


The Bounty on Their Heads

by Scarlett_Oakenshield



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Bounty Hunters, Alternate Universe - Star Wars Setting, Drama, F/M, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Mentions of Rape, Mild Language, Organized Crime, Past Abuse, Post Cold War, Repaying Debt, mafia
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-09
Updated: 2020-04-28
Packaged: 2020-08-13 11:11:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 34,150
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20173291
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Scarlett_Oakenshield/pseuds/Scarlett_Oakenshield
Summary: Fed up with their past failures, crime lord Giovanni dismisses his bounty hunters, Jessie and James, with nothing but an unreasonable amount of time to pay back the massive debt they owe him, and the promise of death if they can't. With their mob now properly turned against them, they are forced into the cruelty of the corrupted underworld of black marketing, gangsters, and bounty hunters, and faced with situations and discoveries that will test their overwhelming fidelity to one another and to the organization that betrayed them.





	1. Part 1: Marooned~ Chapter 1: The Mess Hall Brawl

**Author's Note:**

> So, there was this day where I so happened to watch Pokemon and Star Wars. And I had this crazy idea to combine the two. So, thus, I have taken the Pokemon anime characters and thrown them into a Star Wars AU. This is all post Cold/Sith War stuff, and during Jabba's crime empire, which I only have limited knowledge on. I have done some research and a friend of mine who's a major Star Wars geek is helping me out. I don't have the time to go an read all the books and comics and whatnot, I'm a college student, so I'm relying on the interwebs and my friend for fact-checking. 
> 
> Know that I'm trying my best. So, please forgive me if my facts aren't 100% accurate. I don't mind if you politely correct me, but do not get overly-defensive or upset. This is not meant to be a textbook representation of Satr Wars, rather, it is based on it, tying in elements from Pokemon too. 
> 
> With the disclaimer over, I really hope you guys enjoy my ambitious little story!

THE BOUNTY ON THEIR HEADS

(1)

With his clammy hands at his sides and the nervous tremble that he forced himself to hide, he walked with her, perfectly in step, to the boss’s office. He kept shifting his gaze to drink in her confident stride and her stone-faced determination.

Drawing in a breath, he tried his absolute utmost to mirror her and fake his confidence. He passed a polished window on his left and he saw his face. With his pale skin, his wide green eyes that feared the world, his brow furrowed in concern, his small-shouldered form, and his messy periwinkle hair framing a youthful face, he reconfirmed the notion that he looked pathetic next to her. She, so lean and strong with her chest puffed, posture straight, her strides long, and her dark pink hair swinging effortlessly behind her.

Blue eyes cast a side glance at him and she said, “You look a little sick. What’s the matter?” she asked.

“No matter how hard we try, we just keep failing and failing. We’ve failed so many missions at this point, I’m sure he’s calling us in to fire us.” he replied. He sighed, “Damn. We would have accomplished the last one if it weren’t for me. We would have gotten that information, but I just couldn’t bring myself to shoot that little droid that was working so hard to protect its injured master. So it escaped.”

“And we wouldn’t have failed the one before that if I hadn’t used the last of our ammunition to shoot those disgusting Jablogians. I couldn’t just stand there and let them do _ that _to a little girl. How could anyone even try to violate someone like that!?” she sighed deeply and touched his shoulder, “Toughen up. Don’t be such a worrywart. He’s just calling us in for another assignment, like always.” 

While studying her blue eyes, he noticed beads of sweat on her perfectly sculpted brow. Whatever head-held-high confidence she projected was just as much of a flat lie as his own. She averted her stoic gaze from his and looked at the heavy sliding doors up ahead with the red “R” painted on the front. As she turned away her hand touched his arm and gave it a squeeze.

A hiss indicated the opening of the door. They stepped into the room. Across from them, with his desk next to the window, the boss sat in that familiar orange suit, with his broad frame, his steepled hands and his greasy, slick-backed hair. There was a pale, giant loth-cat in his lap. His icy gaze found them along with his sneering smile as a burly hand subconsciously stroked the feline creature.

“Jessie and James.” He started. His voice wasn’t overly booming, but the low tone was just as intimidating.

Jessie cleared her throat and straightened her posture even stiffer, “Giovanni, sir.” She said, without a falter in her voice.

James nodded, and added in a much quieter voice, “Sir.”

“Speak up, James.” He ordered.

He stiffened, “S-sir!”

“Better.” He said, “Listen, you two. My patience for you wears thin. I have given you warning after warning and you have given me disappointment after disappointment and failure after failure.”

They braced themselves for dreaded words. 

“I have wanted to fire the two of you many times, but I am short-staffed at the moment and have no other option but to keep you employed. With that said, I have no other choice but to give you another mission. And this one is important. Guzma has invaded our turf and stolen our hard-earned commodities. I want them back by any means necessary. Whether that be in the form of a deal or deaths, I don’t care. Just get me my property back. And this time, don’t screw it up! There is no room for error.”

“Yes sir!” they said in unison.

Giovanni leaned forward slightly and continued, “According to the information that Domino has acquired, Guzma and his gang are currently on Rishi, residing in the Western Jungle Expanse on Horizon Island. You have the rest of the day to gather what you need, and by tomorrow I want you out of here and on your way.”

“Roger!” they exclaimed.

“Since this is a mission that is centered around the recovery of quite a bit of stolen property, I have assigned a small team of four to go with you.” He gestured toward a screen on his right side. Four identification cards popped up on the screen, displaying a picture and information- Alexis, a female Palliduvin, Bresmin, a male Trandoshan, and two female Twi’leks- Shiloh, who was orange and Yolary, who was green.

“We won’t disappoint you this time, Giovanni sir.” Jessie said.

“You can count on us!” James added.

“Hmm…” his face pulled into a frown, “See to it that you don’t.”

They turned to leave, but as they did, with a gulp, James remembered something.

“Umm sir…” he turned back around.

“What is it, James?” Giovanni demanded.

“Umm…well…it’s just…my blaster was totaled on our last mission. So…could I perhaps…get a new one?”

“That is the fifth one you’ve gotten destroyed, James Kojiro!” the boss snipped, “There are no more extras because Guzma stole them! If you want one, go buy a new one!”

James shuddered, shrinking in his boots, letting out a startled squeak.

Jessie laughed guiltily, “Aha haa haa, of course, sir…we’ll just go and do that.”

Grumbling to himself, Giovanni said, “Because of the importance of this mission, I’ll give you some credits to go towards it, but it’ll be paid back along with the rest of your loans you’ve gotten from me.”

“Thank you, sir!” James exclaimed.

With this last statement, they turned to leave the room. They were about to make an exit when one of the other gang members appeared as a hologram from the device on Giovanni’s desk. “Sir,” he said, “One of our members has just caught a group of trespassers on our turf. We’ve secured them behind bars.” 

“Uniform?” 

“None, sir.” he said, “Just a couple raggedly dressed hoodlum teenagers.” 

“Dispose of them, but do it quietly. Those kids don’t know how to hold their tongues. All they do is gossip to their friends. They’ll spill everything about this base off operation.” 

“Yes sir.” 

James’s stomach did a painful somersault. As the hologram shut off, they heard the pleas and apologies of the kids that had ended up in the wrong place at the wrong time. He glanced to Jessie for some sort of comfort or sympathy, but her expression remained stoic, and she showed nothing of the sort. 

Her fingers closed around his thin upper arm and she gently tugged him. “Come on, James. We’ve got preparations to do.” 

“Right.” 

-xXx-

While they were making their way to the secretary to pick up more credits, James simply could not leave the situation alone. 

Jessie was walking a few paces ahead of him, “They’re teenagers, Jessie.” he said, “It just isn’t fair. How were they supposed to know they were trespassing!?” 

“They were dumb kids who were snooping around. Serves them right.” she responded, coldly. 

“But Jess! You know it’s wrong! If it was someone from a rival gang...or someone who didn’t pay their debt or the police or something, I could understand...but a couple of innocent kids!? Giovanni has..._ had _ a son, how could he--” 

She whipped around sharply and got up in his face, “James, that’s enough!” 

He winced. 

“Who are we to question the boss’s decisions? We aren’t. Our job is to follow his orders and work our hardest to please him, not doubt his leadership and his dictations.” she replied, “...No matter how wrong or cold-blooded they can be. We’re criminals, that’s what we do.” 

Judging by what she had said, he could tell they were on a similar page with the situation. But he also knew she’d never admit that out loud. So, he relented, taking that as agreement enough, since he wouldn’t get more than that. 

-xXx-

It was quiet between them for the rest of the way to the secretary. Once the credits had been added, they raided their disguise closet to disguise themselves as normal commoners. And finally, Jessie’s voice broke the quiet air.

“We have to go into town to pick up that new blaster, and some ammunition. We also need to get that part so we can finish repairing our ship. I got a call from our guy telling us that it’s ready to go.” 

“Right.” 

Just then, their growling stomachs reminded them that they hadn’t eaten anything yet. 

“But let’s grab something for breakfast before we go.” 

“I’m famished.” James agreed. 

-xXx-

The mess hall was moderately crowded at this hour. While some of the team members were on patrol or off doing missions, many of them had the day off, since it was the weekend after all. 

Jessie and James moved hastily, trying to avoid drawing attention to themselves. But, that was easier said than done. Even if it was loud and busy inside, there were certain people who wouldn’t pass up the chance to pick on the two of them. 

When they entered, they walked into a crowd of people all immersed in conversation. Jessie’s gaze was immediately drawn to the table seating Team Rocket’s top dogs- Butch, Cassidy, Domino, Annie, and Oakley, who were chatting up a storm. Domino made a joke, and in that moment Cassidy rolled back into her chair and howled with obnoxious laughter. 

Beside James, Jessie bristled and clenched her fists. “Uggh, just seeing her makes me want to--” 

“Jessie, please don’t start _ another _fight with her.” 

“We have a job to do, I don’t want to waste time. But if she does anything to provoke me i’ll--” 

“I know, I know. You’ll kick her ass. But for now, let’s just get our Grab and Go's. I’ll get the drinks today.”

“Fine. Let’s just get this over with.” Jessie walked over to the counter, and James went to the drink station, avoiding confrontation, but what they didn’t notice was the scheming going on at the table of top dogs. 

-xXx-

For the most part, James went unnoticed by the rest of his coworkers. _ Get it, grab the drinks, go run errands for the mission, go in, drinks, mission, go in, drinks, mission… _He kept repeating in his head to stay focused.

The only exchange of anything was a brief nod he shared with the gal that was at the coffee dispenser before him. Avoiding looking at the crowd, he started by preparing his tea- hot water in a cup and a tea bag filled with Tarine. He set it down on the counter and moved onto Jessie’s caf next. He was otherwise immersed in what he was doing, that was until he heard a sneering voice from behind. 

“Look, Butch.” Cassidy said, “Jessie’s puppy dog lost his way.” 

James stiffened and felt a knot begin to form in his stomach. He avoided their gazes altogether and continued to mind his own business. 

“Oh, hey, you made my tea for me, how nice.” Butch commented. James reached out and grabbed it. 

“That one’s mine,” he said, turning to meet the green-haired man’s gaze, “But I can make another for you if you really want me to.” He offered, the stomach knot tightening.

“Heh.” Butch turned and leaned against the table, “Thanks, yer a real pal.” A hand slapped his shoulder. James moved away slightly. 

“But first I have to finish this--” The cup of caf was whisked away before he could grab it again. 

“Thanks for the Caf, you’re a real sweetie.” Cassidy exclaimed.

“Hey, that one is Jessie’s--” James immediately cut off. That was way louder than it was supposed to be. _ Uh oh. _ Now there were others staring at him.

“Please, Cassidy, I’ll make you one too, just don’t take that one…” 

“What? Are you afraid that Jessie’s going to get mad at you for letting me take it? That wouldn’t surprise me, considering how much of a bitch she is.” With the cup of liquid in her hand, she turned to make her way back to her table. 

James bristled, and took a few steps to follow her. “You take that back, Cassidy!” His gaze immediately averted to where Jessie was. Somehow, she hadn’t heard the orange-haired woman’s insult. 

She chuckled, “Alright, alright. That was a bit harsh, I’ll admit. I’m _ sorry _.” she sneered, “I guess I should give this hot cup of Caf back too?” 

James relaxed. 

“Here. Take it.” she turned and made her way back to him. And as she did, he watched her deliberately walk into the nearby table leg. “Oops!” She “fell” forward, splashing hot liquid all over him. Of course, the shock of sudden heat felt absolutely searing. He stood there, flabbergasted, letting the liquid soak through his clothes and onto his face.

“Sorry,” she mocked, “Looks like you’ll have to make another one anyway.” She thrust the empty cup into his hands. Then, the duo turned up their noses and walked back towards their table, laughing. Everyone else who had witnessed what had happened started to laugh with them. 

“What a pathetic weakling.” Butch commented, “Thinks that bein’ nice is gonna get him anywhere with this crowd.” 

“Ha. Idiot. He’s just embarrassing himself.”

A chorus of other insults followed after. The hot liquid on his skin was nothing compared to the punch in the face he’d just received. He turned away from the crowd and forced back the familiar sting of tears. 

Then, a voice cut sharply into the air, “CASSIDY!” 

_Oh no. _

-xXx- 

Jessie was perfectly fine minding her own business and gathering her grab bags. But when Cassidy’s infuriating laughter once again filled the air, followed by a chorus of others, with insults thrown in the mix. 

She started to mutter to herself, “Oh, what is so funny to that pain in the--” She was cut off when she saw the source of the laughter. Across from her, she saw James had been soaked in hot Caf, standing where everyone could see him, and trying not to cry, and where was Cassidy? Walking away from the scene, laughing. She knew instantly what had happened. The words dried in her throat and were replaced by livid anger. She dropped the “Grab N’ Go” bags and stormed over. 

“CASSIDY! YOU INSOLENT LITTLE BITCH! HOW _ DARE _YOU” 

“OOO, this’ll be good.” Annie commented from the table.

“I’m curious to know who’s gonna win this one.” Oakley added. 

“Jessie, wait!” James called. He tried to run over to stop her, but he slipped on the puddle of caf on the floor and ended up on the hard tile instead.

Nothing was stopping Jessie at this point. Everyone in the mess hall knew that Cassidy was in trouble now. Because this wasn't going to be some "catty" mess of hair pulling and scratching. This woman-on-woman fight involved fists and powerful kicks. 

James watched helplessly as Jessie threw the first punch and landed it. Cassidy retaliated. She aimed for Jessie's face, but a quick hand blocked the blow. Jessie pushed forward and kicked the other woman in the shin. 

Cassidy hissed in pain. Jessie grabbed her and flipped her over a shoulder, smashing her onto a nearby table. She went in to pin her. 

In response, Cassidy pulled her legs in and sent Jessie staggering backward with a kick to her front. She hopped up from the table and went in with a clenched fist, and the brawl continued. 

A series of kicks, punches, and thumps showed the fight getting nasty, and at this point, others had gathered around to observe. 

James was panicking at this point. His heart was racing and he could feel the shortness of breath coming on. But worst of all, he felt like the whole thing was his fault since Jessie had started the fight to stand up for him. She had cuts on her face and sweat on her brow, but she was showing no signs of giving in. Neither was Cassidy.

Butch and the rest of her possé knew it was time for the brawl to stop before someone ended up on the ground. Domino and Butch went forward to pull Cassidy away, and Annie and Oakley did the same to Jessie. Cassidy relaxed, but Jessie tried to fight her way free. 

“Urrgh! Let go! I’m not finished with her yet!” she hissed. 

“Yeah, no, we’re not doing that.” Annie responded. 

“Why you little, no good--” A hand met her shoulder with a squeeze. Her fiery gaze immediately burned into whoever had touched her and softened immediately. 

“Jessie, you made your point, let’s just go. We’ve got errands. We’ll go eat somewhere else.” 

“Fine.” she said. Her gaze hardened again when she met Annie and Oakley’s, “Let go of me, groupies.” She wrenched herself free from their grasp, and followed James to the exit, making sure to glare at Cassidy on her way out. 

-xXx-

“Why did you do that!?” James exclaimed once they’d left the area, “I asked you not to start a fight with her today!” 

“Yeah, and I said I wouldn’t unless she pissed me off, and she did!” 

“You could have just ignored it, I would have been fine!” 

“No! I couldn’t have! Not when she hurt you like that! I know how sensitive you are! I couldn’t _stand_ seeing you so humiliated in front of everyone! You weren’t doing anything but getting our drinks.” 

“She used me to provoke you, Jess...by starting a fight with her you were giving in to what she wanted from you! A-and stooping down to her level.” 

“I was not. I was the better person by standing up for you! The others are cowards, getting behind her deliberately bullying you. Maybe that was her intention to piss me off, but I really don’t care, James.” she replied, “And that’s what you do in a gang. Someone pisses you off or threatens your partner, you fight them. Simple as that.” 

“But was it really necessary to make such a big fuss for my sake? I could have stuck up for myself, you know.” 

“You wouldn’t have. You’re too nice. Sometimes I wonder what you’re still doing here.” 

James’s shoulders sagged, “I’m just like you, Jess. I have nowhere else to go. You really are all I have.”

The stoic, harsh gaze in her eyes softened once more. And in that moment, James couldn’t fight a sad, ghostly smile. No matter what the severity of the situation was, or what sort of negative emotion was being projected, that little thing-- that gentle gaze and the softness that appeared in those eyes, even if it was only for a fraction of a second, was enough to make James stay. Because he knew that expression was only shown to him, and through it, he saw just how much she cared. 

“Are you hurt?” she asked, turning her face away. 

“Humiliated, more like, but fine.” he sighed and looked down at his stained front, “But my favorite jacket isn’t. I’ll be fine, my skin just stings a bit. My clothes protected me.” he said, “But forget me, I’m more worried about you...your face is bleeding.” He bit his tongue. Out of all the things he could have said, this was about the worst at this moment. Jessie was bristling again, clenching her fists at her sides. 

“Oh! That Cassidy! She’ll pay for messing up my flawless face!” He grabbed her arm, a little harsher than intended, although the touch was more shaking and desperate than controlling, 

“Please, no more fighting with her today…for my sake.” 

“Fine. Let’s just go clean up. And then we’re leaving. I don’t know how much longer I can stay in headquarters right now.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> According to the Star Wars Wookiepedia:
> 
> *Nar Shadaa, or Smugglers Moon, was a hot spot for gangs and the like during the days of the Old Republic.
> 
> *Rishi was tropical planet that was described as being notorious as a smuggler and pirate haven. Additionally, "Actions or events that are considered illegal in the Core Worlds are legal, including goods smuggling, contraband, black marketeering and bounty hunting." Since Guzma is from the Alola region, which is tropical, I figured it made sense to have him be the big gangster man in Rishi.
> 
> *"Jablogians were a sentient species native to the planet of Nar Kanji. They were noted for their overweight torsos, blemished red skin, pointed ears and beady eyes."
> 
> *Tarine tea is a type of tea in the Star Wars verse. It was said to be General Armitage Hux's favorite. Also, Tarine tea and porridge made for a filling breakfast. A real-world version of the drink is served at the new Galaxy's Edge and is described as unsweetened black tea with huckleberry, peach, and mint.
> 
> *Caf is the Star Wars equivalent of coffee.
> 
> Trandoshans: large, bipedal reptilian sentient humanoids from the planet Trandosha, and were renowned as great hunters. Trandoshans relished the thrill of a hunt, and were known to embark on a hunting related rite of passage. 
> 
> Palliduvins: a humanoid species characterized by their lanky frames, chalk-white skin, and long, bony fingers[1] used to draw blood.
> 
> Twi'lek: A tall humanoid species whose most striking feature was a pair of long appendages protruding from their skull, called lekku.


	2. 1-2: In Better Days

(2)

IN BETTER DAYS

By the time they got to their speeder and Jessie started up the engine, she was testy again. Although the word “hangry” was more fitting for the situation. 

The speeder coughed but then whirred to life, casting a smelly cloud of fumes from the exhaust pipes in the rear. She pressed the gas pedal, once, twice. She released the break. And then she floored it without a second thought, nearly causing James to fly out. And the two of them disappeared into the crimson daylight of_ Nar Shadaa. _

“JESSIE!” James squeaked, “What was that for!? Warn me before you take off like that! I almost flew out.”

But she wasn’t listening, she was too busy bristling, and apparently, she wasn’t doing a very good job at paying attention to where she was flying either. 

“JESSIE! WATCH OUT FOR THAT OTHER SPEEDER!” James cried, heart skipping and pounding with terror, threatening to beat out of his chest. In the nick of time, she whipped the steering wheel to a sharp left, avoiding a head-on collision.

The other driver spewed out a string of curses as he flew passed.

“LEARN TO SHARE THE ROAD, ASSHOLE!” Jessie yelled back, “Damn…” James sunk back into his seat and exhaled with relief. But when he glanced at Jessie, he saw that she was still quite livid.

“Hey, Jess?”

“What!?” she snapped.

James winced, “Eeek! I was going to say let’s stop and eat somewhere, since our breakfast was rudely interrupted earlier.” 

She sighed, “Sure…that sounds like a good idea.”

When she finished speaking, a string of chatty beeps followed by a grainy, “Waabba~” sounded from behind them. James glanced over his shoulder as a familiar blue astromech made itself known.

“Woba Fett? Have you been here the whole time?” James asked the droid. 

“Waaaa~” The astromech unit replied. It had been customized with a voice programming along with the usual beeps characteristic of this specific droid type by the person the duo had traded their old droid with to get it. However, there seemed to be an error in the installation because all it knew how to say was its name: _Woba, Woba, Woba Fett!_ Was the common phrase it used.

“We didn’t even notice you...” James said, with a chuckle, trying to ease tension in the vehicle by creating a sort of distraction.

“Well, he _did _choose to sleep in here last night.” Jessie replied, not showing any sign of lightening up, although her anger had dwindled enough to keep her driving safely.

“Right…I forgot…”

“Why didn’t you follow us into the mess all like all the other droids of your type do?” Jessie scolded the droid, “You could have given that Cassidy a good zap for me!”

A sad beep escaped his blue, silver, and black body. 

“Oh, come on, Jessie, don’t be so hard on him. He was busy working on the repairs for the _Zeppelin _last night. He couldn’t have possibly known that Cassidy was going to act like a...well a….” 

“A bitch? No, I suppose not.” she scoffed, “Whatever. Let’s just go and eat.” 

-xXx-

Once they reached their favorite diner, Jessie pulled the speeder to the side and parked it. The flickering neon sign read “Lulu’s” across the top of the building. Once they were out of the speeder, Jessie and James hoisted Woba Fett out of the back seat so that he could follow them inside. While most places didn’t hesitate to throw Droids out like the lunch rush trash, Lulu happily let them in with their masters. While this was an unpopular preference, her jovial self didn’t seem to care. In fact, most of her employees were T7 units and other droids as well.

“Good morning, Lulu!” James replied, matching her jovial tone. She showed them to their favorite table and when they sat down, she said:

“Get whatever you want, it’s on the house?”

“Ooo, really!?” at the sound of free food, Jessie’s anger melted away into nothing. 

“Of course!” Lulu winked. The two companions didn’t even have to make Lulu wait for their orders. They got the same thing every time they went to her restaurant. James ordered Tarine tea and porridge, and Jessie ordered a Caf with six sweeteners and a breakfast sandwich. Both got a side of fruit with their order as well.

“Will that be all for you two?” Lulu asked.

“Yes, I think so.” James replied, “...And I hate to be a bother but...we’re in a bit of a hurry, so…” 

“I got it! You want it in a rush. Of course. No hard feelings. You’re working kids after all.” She turned and left their table. The moment she did, Jessie shook her head and scoffed at James in a teasing fashion.

“What’s so funny?” he asked.

“You with your “Tarine Tea and porridge” she imitated his litted, slightly accented voice to the best of her ability, “The most stereotypical Mandalorian ever.”

“Ha, so funny,” James replied, voice etched with sarcasm.

Jessie poked her tongue out between her teeth.

-xXx-

When they got their breakfast, they devoured everything but the plates, cups, and utensils. James insisted on leaving Lulu a tip, much to Jessie’s chagrin. They rushed out of there without scarcely bidding goodbye. Because now they were running late for the pick up of the ship part they’d ordered from the local shop. 

It was a miracle that Jessie’s reckless driving didn’t get them pulled over or killed. 

With some help from the shop owner who had filled their order, they carried the metal panel out, and tucked it safely inside, tying it down for good measure. 

-xXx-

Once he was in the passenger seat, James crossed that item off their to-do list. “Next stop is Wormstew Town,_” _he said, referencing the location of a well-known hospital and the biggest weapons shop in the area. Here, they went to pick up a new blaster for James, along with some more supplies, including new bullets for Jessie’s own blaster, which was about as far from cheap as one could get. 

As they were driving, Jessie was complaining, “That was ridiculous,” she groaned, “This is why stealing is so much more practical! Then you don’t have to spend an arm and a leg on a blaster like we just did. And it wasn’t even for me! It was for you because you broke yours.”

“But it’s the newest model, _and_ it has an extended warranty. Which means I can replace and repair it if I break it again.”

“It doesn’t matter. I wish _I _could have been the one to get a shiny new blaster.”

“If you’re nice to me, I might let you use it~” James drawled.

“No thanks. Nice is not the bounty hunter way.” Jessie scoffed, “You should know that, as a bounty hunter yourself.”

James frowned, “I guess you won’t get to use my new blaster then.”

“Oh!” she grumbled, “Why you—_hmmph_. Whatever. I don’t want it anyway. My blaster is precious to me. We’ve been together since my girlhood training days. I don’t need some fancy new one to replace it.” 

She turned down a sketchy looking roadway and prepared for a descent towards the familiar dark, tall building with the faded red ‘R’ on it. James pressed a button on the controls and the door opened for them. They flew inside and parked the speeder to stay.

Then, with their speeder safely intact, they lowered the step ladder to walk down onto the white tile floor. Mechanical whirs sounded as their droid companion followed them. Heavy, boot-clad echoed across the floor as they made their way to the elevator.

It stopped on the fourth floor, where their room was. Once they were inside their room, they deposited their belongings in the middle of it, on their raggedy rug. Their chamber was relatively small. Once entering the single door, directly across was the window to the outside world, although the only view it gave them was a view of the smelly, dank slums where the underground criminal networks operated.

On the left-hand wall was a bunk bed with beds made with worn sheets and covers, and across from that, were their small, aging desks. Above those was a rectangular flat screen used to communicate with the boss. 

Jessie sighed deeply and flopped down on her back on the old, creaky mattress. She laid there for a few moments, before she got up and said, “I’m going down to the mess hall for a smoothie. It shouldn’t be very busy right now. Want anything?”

“No. I’m still full from breakfast.”

“Okay. I’ll meet you and Woba Fett down at the _Zeppelin.” _

-xXx-

There was a lot to be done with the rest of the day when it came to getting ready for their mission. The _Zeppelin _was the ship that had been given to the two of them by Giovanni a few years ago. It had been Jessie’s coming-of-age present. They’d used her since. She’d seen her fair share of action, though. She’d gone through many missions, failed or otherwise, and therefore, she’d received constant repairs and upgrades and customization. There was no other like her and everyone at this point knew her as “Jessie and James’s” ship.

She was dirty, and her paint was faded. Some parts of her metal were rusted and she had permanent cracks and dents in her body and on her windshield. The interior was no better. The fabric on the seats were faded and torn, and there were stains on the walls and on the carpet Jessie had put in. The light inside the passenger area was out and had been for a long time. And to make matters worse, there was an embarrassing engraving on the wall that read “_Jessie bal James par ratiin_” in Mando’a, which they carved in with their knives when they’d dated each other at eighteen. If a protocol droid were to translate this embarrassing sentence for you, it would say “Jessie and James for always.”

Well, at least it was in the cockpit where no one could _really _see it. To an outsider, she was a hunk of junk, but even so, she was still Jessie and James’s pride and joy. 

This time, however, she had been all but totaled. It was so bad, that even Lawliet, the only mechanic who was nice enough to help them out, had said that maybe it was time to retire her. But, Jessie, being as stubborn as she was, had refused. It had taken them nearly a month to repair, working diligently, almost 24/7, with the help of Lawliet and her trio of astromechs when she could find time to help them. She was a very good mechanic, and many others wanted her help too. 

Luckily now, there were only a few minor repairs left on it, all of which could be done by their Woba Fett. While he wasn't always the brightest or strongest, he was fantastic at making the repairs.

So, there they were, getting their hands and faces dirty and helping Woba Fett out. However, it seemed that the few “minor repairs” were taking longer than anticipated. 

It was so much work, that they took a break to stock the cargo hold. Jessie made sure they had plenty of snacks and their weapons and armor were intact, their knives sharpened, and their blasters polished and filled with ammunition. Meanwhile, James made sure that they had plenty of water in canteens and a first aid kit. Among the rest of what they packed was extra- including a repair kit should one of the weapons break, and fuel.

-xXx-

It took them basically all night to finish, and they still ended up leaving Woba Fett to finish for them.

“Thanks, Woba Fett.” James said.

_“Woba, woba!” _ the droid replied.

“Whew,” Jessie said, “I’m ready for a nice hot bath.” She used an arm to wipe dirt off of her cheek. 

“Me too!” James agreed. Jessie fixed her gaze for a moment before she licked her finger and wiped some dirt off the tip of her friend’s nose, much to his protest.

“Eww, Jessie!” he spluttered.

“It was bothering me.” She scoffed.

James’s cheeks flushed with embarrassment, “What if someone would have seen that, Jess? Our coworkers would be teasing me for weeks!”

“There’s no one here. No need to get so upset. I was trying to help!”

James sighed, “I’m sorry…I just…”

“It’s alright. Anyway. I’m going to head upstairs and get a hot bath going. I feel disgusting.”

“I think I’ll stay and help Woba Fett a bit more.” He tried to turn his attention back towards the ship, but his growling stomach made a different decision for him.

“I guess I’m going to the mess hall to get something to eat then. What do you want me to grab you, Je—” but she was more than halfway to the elevator across the corridor and didn’t hear him. He patted their droid on the head, and then went to wash the grime off his hands. 

-xXx-

The mess hall was empty when he got there. Because they’d spent so much time working, they’d long missed dinner. Naturally, all the best morsels had been taken already.

“James!” called a cheerful voice, “Over here!” He glanced in the direction of the sound. The familiar head of whispy, short red hair, bright eyes, and the face that was forever stained with grime revealed the helpful mechanic from earlier. And sitting with her were her three astromechs.

“Lawliet?” he replied, making his way over, “What are you doing?” 

“Well, I was going to come eat at dinnertime, but I got caught up in my work again.” She chuckled and rubbed the back of her neck, “I figured you and Jessie hadn’t eaten yet, so I grabbed some extra food for you too.” She patted the chair beside her, “Come sit down!”

“Oh…thank you.” He walked across the room and joined her at the corner table.

“Eleven,” she indicated one of her droids, “Will you go get some refreshments for us? Twelve and Thirteen, make sure to watch in case she needs help.”

The droids beeped in response, and Eleven rolled away to happily follow the orders.

“So umm… where’s Jessie?” She asked, freckled face flushing rose, “It’s a little strange that she’s not with you.”

“Oh, she went to go take a hot bath. She can’t stand being grimy if she can help herself.” 

“Of course. I should have known.”

“I suppose we owe you thanks, Lawliet.” James started.

“Oh?”

There was a string of happy beeps and Eleven returned with a tray carrying two glasses of juice. They plucked the glasses off the tray and Lawliet said, “Thanks Eleven.” She patted the droid on the head.

The sound she made in response was something of a happy sigh. Then Lawliet turned back to face James.

“What did you wanna thank me for?”

“For always being so nice to us.” he replied, on behalf of both himself and Jessie, since he knew she had too much of an ego to thank anyone for helping her confident self out, “I have to ask though- you aren’t afraid what the rest of the team will think of you? I mean…Jessie and I are kind of the underdogs here…” He blushed and rubbed the back of his neck, “Don’t tell her I said that…”

“No. Not at all. It’s not their concern who I choose to be nice to and who I don’t. If they have a problem with it, then they can piss off for all I care.” 

James was going to say something, but he was cut off by Jessie’s voice on the commlink. 

_ “JAMES, GET UP HERE NOW, WE HAVE A PROBLEM!”_

He sighed and clicked on the communication device, “I’ll be right there, Jess.”

_“Hurry it up!”_

James sweat-dropped, “Sorry I can’t stay and chat, that’s my cue.”

“That’s okay! It was nice to talk to you anyway. Give Jessie my love, will you? Tell her I thought she looked real cute today!”

James started to gather up their dinner, “I will.” _More compliments will certainly make her happy. _He picked up the platter and his glass, “Oh, I should probably grab her a drink too…”

“I’ll help you carry the drinks.” Lawliet offered, “Come on, my little astro-babies.” She called her droids to follow as she got up from the table.

“Thank you again, Lawliet, really…” James didn’t really know how to handle her kindness except for giving his awkward gratitude.

“Sure! It’s not a problem, I love helping.” And thus, she skipped all the way up to the fourth floor with him. On their way up, Jessie’s annoyed voice shrilled on the commlink again, telling James to hurry and demanding him to know what was taking so long. 

“I was getting food, Jess! I’m on my way, hang on.” He opened the door to their room. “You can just set the cups on my desk there.” He said.

“Sure!” With a click, the plates of food and the glasses were set nicely on the smooth material of the black desktop.

“Anything else?” Lawliet asked.

“No. We’re fine, thanks.”

“Alright then! I’m off to bed. Night~ good luck on your mission tomorrow, I’m rooting for you.” She waved and turned around, heading back to the direction she came, walking passed her droids who had labored up the stairs to get to her. With exasperated beeps exchanged, they turned back to follow her.

James closed their door and headed down the hall towards the bathroom they unfortunately shared with Butch and Cassidy. Once he got inside, he was met with a very fed up Jessie.

“Took you long enough, James.” She snapped.

“I’m sorry, I told you I was grabbing food, and I ran into Lawliet in the mess hall.”

“The mechanic?”

“Yeah. The one that’s always nice to us.”

“So, you were flirting? That’s what took you so long?”

James flushed red, “I was not! I told you I don’t like her like that!”

“Nevermind. Anyway, Butch and Cassidy thought it’d funny to turn off the water heater again so we’d have cold baths. I opened the key pad but there’s so many damn buttons, I forgot which one turns it back on.”

James sighed, “Jessie, I’ve showed you how to fix it so many times…”

“Well, I forgot! Being in charge of our team there’s a lot to keep track of. So, forgive me if I one simple thing slipped my mind!”

“Don’t snap at me!” he exclaimed, and then huffed after a few strained moments of silence, “I’ll show you again.” He finally sighed. He went to the control panel that was on the wall beside the tub. “See this dial,” he said, “Just turn it to the right, like this. Give it maybe five minutes or so, and it should work fine.”

“Thanks.” Jessie replied, and then heavily sunk her body onto the side of the tub, “Sorry, I got angry. I’m exhausted and starving and stressed out.”

“I know…me too…” James said, joining her. 

“Normally, I’d be excited for a mission as big as this one…but…”

“It’s okay to admit you’re nervous. So am I.”

“No! I’m not nervous.” Once again, she got defensive. She stood up and turned away from him, she straightened her posture and clenched her fists, “A bounty hunter doesn’t show any fear. Ever. That’s our way. I’m not afraid. I’m never afraid. I’m a bounty hunter. I’m strong. And I’m tough. I don’t get _scared.” _Her last word was a sneer.

“No. Of course you don’t.” James reassured. He knew the best thing to do now was to agree with her, even _if _she was lying to herself. The fact that she could put on such a confident front like this made her so admirable to him. He wished he could share her bravery and her strength.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi readers! Not much to say about this chapter, really, however, I did go back and add some changes to the opening scene of the chapter before this one so I could have better continuity with chapters showing the mission yet to come. I'm going to try my best to post a new chapter once a week, so stay tuned! 
> 
> In case you don't want to go back, here's the changes I made: 
> 
> 1) Skull headquarters is now on the mainland of the planet Rishi, not a separate one. 
> 
> 2) Giovanni assigned four other Team Rocket members to accompany Jessie and James on their mission:  
Bresmin, a Trandoshan, Alexis, a Palliduvin, and two female Twi'leks- one orange one, Shiloh, and one green one, Yolary. 
> 
> According the Stars Wars wiki: 
> 
> Trandoshans: large, bipedal reptilian sentient humanoids from the planet Trandosha, and were renowned as great hunters. Trandoshans relished the thrill of a hunt, and were known to embark on a hunting related rite of passage. 
> 
> Palliduvins: a humanoid species characterized by their lanky frames, chalk-white skin, and long, bony fingers[1] used to draw blood.
> 
> Twi'lek: A tall humanoid species whose most striking feature was a pair of long appendages protruding from their skull, called lekku. 
> 
> That's all for now, folks!


	3. 1-3: Tension and Uncertainty

(3)

TENSION AND UNCERTAINTY

“Alright, Jessie.” James clicked a few buttons and double-checked his navigation screen, “Coordinates to Rishi are set to go.” He buckled in and tightened his seatbelt. Then, he put his helmet. 

“Okay. Ready for the jump to lightspeed.” She pulled her own helmet over her head, “Hold on!” She pressed the control. It was safe to say that this time, they really did blast off at the speed of light. All around, the white expanse of the wormhole filled their vision, along with the cockpit, with a bright unearthly light. 

The air cleared, and they found themselves in the Abrion sector, hovering right above the green planet’s atmosphere. Once they had entered the skies of the tropical planet, they had a much clearer view of the series of islands that made it up. The trees and foliage were lush and green, and below them, the group could just catch a glimpse of the valleys and swamps. Although they looked like dots from up here, they knew that the valleys were brimming with houses and towns. One island stood out. Although most of it was a wide expanse of jungle, a series of hills and canyons formed a barrier between it and massive port town on its East Side. 

“There’s Raider’s Cove,” James said, pointing out the port town. 

Jessie sighed, “Yes. But unfortunately, our destination is located in the jungle and far away from there.” She said, “Damn, what I wouldn’t give to stop for a meal break in there…”

“The boss has given us a mission,” said a gruff voice from behind, “We have no time to stop for sightseeing.” Jessie glanced over her shoulder. 

The doors to the cockpit were open, and the small and visually reluctant team of four they had been assigned were studying them with speculation and beady-eyed gazes. None of which were taking kindly to being given the task to go on a mission under the leadership of Jessica Musashi. The one who had spoken had a reptilian face, and was particularly mouthy, and Jessie was close to starting a fight with him. 

“Last I checked, you are not in charge of this mission, I am. So, I suggest you zip it. I give the orders around here. So, if I say we’re going to stop in Raider’s Cove for lunch, then we’re stopping in Raider’s Cove for lunch! But I didn’t say that, and we’re not stopping there. We’re going to find somewhere to land.”

If he was thinking of a rude retort, he bit his tongue and kept it to himself, choosing to mutter an insult as he hardened his scaly glare. 

Her gaze shifted and she whipped around to face him. “You wanna say that to my face!?” she demanded. 

“Okay Jess!” James said breathily, touching her shoulder, “Time to turn back around and focus on flying the ship now, please…” She did so, grumbling to herself. She focused her attention on looking out the windshield. They were still relatively high up, and the canyons passed below them with ease.

James glanced apologetically behind him, “Sorry, you have to excuse her, she gets very irritable when she’s hungry. I wouldn’t try to quarrel with her if I were you.” 

“Hmmph.” He relented and turned his reptilian nose up at the periwinkle-haired man.  _ This is ridiculous. I don’t understand how the boss can possibly have a soft spot for these two useless idiots. Any other mobster with this many failed missions would have been killed by now. But for some reason, these two are still around...I can’t believe it. The boss has lost his mind.  _

“Domino said that the base is located in the Skyline River Pass, which is this canyon here.” James once again pointed at the map, “Which means we should land somewhere near there. Somewhere inside the jungle a bit, so we can hide the ship.” 

“Wow James, you’re just full of bright ideas today.”

_ “Wo-ba-fett!” _ Their droid popped up between them and put in his two sense. Jessie rolled her eyes, and a small smirk graced James’s face.

-xXx-

Jessie made a smooth landing in a grove of densely grown trees. They were well hidden by all the thick foliage, but still not painfully far away from the canyon. 

“We’ll wait for the cover of night to infiltrate the base and carry out the plan,” she said, “In the meantime, I need two of you to take the speeder bikes and scan and scout the area. Alexis,” she indicated the pasty-skinned, muscular, Palliduvin female, “And Bresmin” she nodded to the mouthy Trandoshan, “You two scout the area. Don’t forget the camouflage gear.”

Without a falter in her stone-faced expression, Alexis nodded, “Yes Ma’am.” With that, she and Bresmin went to follow the orders. 

“Yolary, I need you to go to the canyon and give us a perspective. But do it without being seen.” Jessie continued, “And Shiloh….” 

“Shouldn’t I go with her so she isn’t by herself? She’ll need someone to watch her back for her, it’s almost suicide to send her in alone. The boss always sends us in pairs. He’d never send any of us alone anywhere.” The orange Twi’lek spoke regarding her green friend almost defensively. 

“Unless you’re Domino, she’s the exception.” Yolary scoffed. 

Jessie huffed and rolled her eyes, but she knew that the two Rylothian women were as close or even closer than her and James, so she supposed she should have known better than to try and separate them. “Fine, you can both go. Just DON’T GET CAUGHT.” 

“We won’t.” Yolary reassured, “Come on, Shiloh.” They turned to leave the ship. 

“James, you and I are going to send an update to the boss while everyone else is out on patrol or whatever the hell they decided to do. If they get killed by anyone or anything, it’s their fault and I’m not responsible.”

“Isn’t that kind of cold, Jess? They’re our teammates...” James began, “And technically since you’re in charge of the mission if they die you are responsible for them…” 

Jessie’s eyes narrowed, and James immediately regretted his statement.

“ _ Tch _ . My only real teammate on this mission is you.” She replied, turning back to the monitor to send a message to the boss. 

“Oh…okay then…” James’s voice faltered. The monitor clicked on. The chair had its back to them. With a giggle, the chair turned and instead of being met with the stoic, intimidating face of the boss, they were met with a stuck-up nose framed with short blonde curls. 

“This is Domino, stepping in for the boss while he’s on his lunch—oh. It’s you, Jessie.” The perkiness in her voice immediately faded.

“Glad you’re so happy to see me.” Jessie scoffed. James poked his head into the viewfinder of the screen. 

“Ahem. Sorry. Hi Domino. We were just calling to check in with the boss, but I guess he’s on break so we’ll call back later…”

“I’ll take a message. He wanted me to give one to you too.”

James exhaled the nervous breath he didn’t know he was holding in, “We’re on Horizon Island. We’re waiting it out until nightfall, and then we plan to strike.” 

“Great,” Domino flipped her hair and drawled sarcastically, “We’ll see how that goes.” 

“HEY!” Jessie snapped, “Just because we’ve failed the last few missions doesn’t mean we—” 

“Save it, sweetie.” Domino waved a dismissive hand, “Anyway. The boss wanted me to send you an access code that’ll get you through the doors. Better take this down. The code is “S-M-1-1-5. I repeat. SM115.”

“S-M-1-1-5…” James echoed, typing it into the small tablet in front of him, “I’ve got it.” 

“The boss wanted me to tell you to inform him when your mission is complete.” Domino said, “Don’t f**k up.” the screen clicked off on her end, and she vanished off-screen. 

-xXx-

Once everything was squared away, Jessie and James ate their lunch and polished their blasters, sitting on rocks they outside the _ Zeppelin.  _

Awhile later, Bresmin and Alexis returned mildly annoyed. 

“Well? Find anything?” Jessie demanded, studying them with a cold gaze. 

“Except for the common flora and fauna of this place, there’s nothing.” Alexis scoffed. 

“Not even a sign of the base.” Bresmin added, “I’m starting to think the two of you have brought us to the wrong place.” 

“That’s impossible,” James said, flicking his hair, “This was the location the boss gave us.” 

“There’s two big canyons, you could have easily mixed them up. And knowing the two of you, a mistake like that isn’t a surprise.” Alexis added. 

Jessie bristled and brandished her blaster within seconds, positioning it between the Palliduvin’s eyes. “Doubting the boss’s specific calculations and directions is an act of treason.” She said through clenched teeth. 

“Wait! Hang on a moment, Jess!” James yelped, hopping up from his spot to immediately reach to her, “No need to go to the extreme! There’s only six teammates in total!” Blue ice shards glared down at James, and he shuddered, loosening his grip.

Her piercing eyes turned back to glare at Alexis, “One more word on the subject and I’ll blast your brains out.” Jessie said, lowering her gun. 

_ “Wob-a-fett!” _ Her droid commented from behind. Jessie snapped her gaze toward the artificial being. 

“No one asked you, go back to your tinkering!” The little droid elicited a disappointed sigh and turned to roll sadly away. Just then, the distant murmur of engines on the speeder bike sounded on their left-hand side. Yolary and Shiloh barreled through the foliage. 

“Jessie, we found the base,” Shiloh announced, pride etched in her voice. 

“Good.” She replied, “We attack at dusk.” 

By dusk, the temperature dropped twenty degrees. The mist had begun to gather in thickly packed clouds, and a breeze whispered through the trees, filling the tropical humidity with a newfound cool. It was much more tolerable than the afternoon had been. 

Since the sun was beginning to vanish over the horizon, the nocturnal creatures started to wake, enveloping the steadily cooling air with the serenity of their lovely, eccentric lullabies. Although it was far from quiet, it was somehow peaceful. James would never admit it, but he almost couldn’t help the small wave of shame that passed over him, knowing that their heist would be disturbing the peace, instead filling the air with gunfire and ship engines. He knew that Jessie wouldn’t be the type to leave the scene of a mission for the boss, accomplished or not, without at least one death or without beating up someone. 

He pulled his hair into a low ponytail, tucked his blaster into his purple belt, and double-checked the knives in the holster fastened to his leg. Once that was done, he pulled a camouflage shawl over his shoulders. Then, he joined the rest of the team outside in front of the ship.

“There you are, James. It took you long enough.” Jessie said. 

“Sorry. I had to double-check to make sure everything was in order.” He replied, joining the assembled group. He made his way over to her, standing in his spot by her side. 

“Now then. Let’s go over the plan one more time.” She ordered. The group went in for a huddle of murmurs and understandings. 

  
  


With the steady nod of understanding heads exchanged, they climbed onto the speeder bikes and took off towards Skyline River Pass. 

“Stay in the cover of the trees as much as you can,” Jessie said, “To avoid being seen at all costs.” 

They followed a winding, narrow pathway, listening to the murmur of the waterfall that only grew louder the closer they got. The foliage was much less dense out here. While there were still a few clusters of trees, most of the cover in the area was from rocks.

Eventually, the pathway came to a dead end. By this point the air was even cooler, and the waterfall had gone from a murmur to a roar. 

“We’re right over Skull headquarters, it’s just beyond these trees.” Yolary said, “We’ll show you. But we’re going to need to park and get off our bikes.” 

“Bresmin, Alexis, stay behind and keep watch.” Jessie ordered, “You too, Shiloh. James, come on.” They got off their bikes, keeping a hand on their blasters as they followed Yolary out of the tree cover and across the crag that was jutting out into the widest part of the canyon. There was a collection of bushes at the cliff’s edge. 

“Get down.” Yolary said. The three of them got onto the ground and crawled to the rock’s edge. The roar of the waterfall was so loud that it drowned out all other sounds. The cool mist just slightly touching their faces told them they were right on top of the waterfall. 

-xXx-

They peered over the edge, down into the gorge. The canyon was greener than one would expect, and the wide, meandering river had clusters of rock sticking out from it like islands. They were on the side of a large rock cluster. Yolary pointed a finger across from them. When they looked, even though they were up high and at a distance, the familiar sight of the two guards wearing skull masks and black clothing made Jessie’s blood boil. 

“There they are.” She said through clenched teeth. 

“Those two are guarding the front entrance, but there’s also one right underneath us behind this waterfall. They built their base in this cave cluster.”

“Great. Caves. That’s going to make it more difficult to navigate.” Jessie huffed. 

“We’ll manage, Jess, I’m sure.” James replied, offering a reassuring hand to her shoulder, “We’ve got a solid plan this time.” 

“Right of course. Come on.” She pulled away from the edge, and James and Yolary followed her pack to the other half of the group. 

Once they had returned to their hiding spot among the trees and went in for a group huddle.

“Alright. Everyone is clear on the plan, right?”

“Yes.” Bresmin scoffed, “You’ve clarified this several times.”

“Well, I’m doing it again so there’s no confusion!” she began repeating it immediately, not giving a single person time to retort, “James and I are going to enter in through the front in disguise to get access to the vault, while the rest of you are going to go in through the back to look for the arsenal. Use the access code the boss gave us to open the doors. When you find it, you let us know, and start loading the stolen weapons onto the back of the speeder bikes. Once you get those, you can start loading Team Skull’s weapons too, as many as you can carry. We’re going to do the same with the credits in the vault.” 

A series of nods followed the repeat of the proposed plan. 

“…And, if you somehow manage to get caught…”

“We show no mercy.” Alexis said simply. 

“Right.” James confirmed with a nod, “Do whatever you can to get back those weapons.” 

“We will.” Yolary replied, face stern with determination, which was matched first by Shiloh, then Alexis, and finishing with Bresmin.

“We’re not failing the boss again. Not this time!” James declared. 

“That’s right.” Jessie said, turning to face her team,” So, Team Skull had better prepare for trouble.” 

“And make it double because we’re here for a heist!” the group responded with curt nods. This was followed by a short chorus of cheers. Jessie smirked. It had taken all day, but morale seemed to be up at last. 

* * *

Jessie and James drove their bikes around to the other side of the crag to steer them down into the canyon and towards the two stiff, beady-eyed guards that stood watch at the front door. They parked their bikes behind an outcropping of rough rocks and dense, green bushes. Once they had gotten off them, they kept their bodies low to the dusty ground and crawled on their stomachs took peek out from behind. 

The guards were several yards in front and across from them. 

“I just need to get in close enough to get a clear shot.” She said. 

“But Jessie, won’t they be able to hear you fire off your blaster from inside? This is a canyon so the noise would echo.” 

“That’s why knives are for, my dear James.” She replied, “Come on. Their backs are turned.” She tugged lightly at his arm, and together, they slunk out of the bushes and darted towards the next closest cover, which was a relatively large rock. Again, Jessie poked her head out from behind their cover. She waited, listening to nothing but the distant roar of the waterfall, and the pounding of her and James’s heartbeats. They drew in deep breaths, and let them out again, keeping their adrenaline at a manageable level. 

The guards scanned their gazes quickly across the entirety of the gorge, before going back to looking head on. Jessie pulled at James’s arm again, and they darted behind the next closest cover. They repeated the same movements again- look, tug, dart, deep breaths, repeat, look, tug, dart, deep breaths, repeat… 

As they were moving towards the next to last rock and bush collection before Jessie was in range, James’s feet slipped on loose pebbles, and the skidding sound of his boots on the dirt echoed loudly in the serenity of the evening. He stumbled forward, feeling his heart drop to the pit of his stomach. James collided with Jessie’s body. She reached out and subconsciously steadied him, before tugging him roughly into cover again. 

She rounded on him, eyes blazing in the milky moonlight. She briskly pressed a finger to pursed lips to shush him, shooting him a warning glare. His shoulders sunk, and he shrunk into himself. They stayed pressed against the back of the rock and waited. 

“Did you hear something?” they overhead one of the guards ask the other. 

“No. You’re just imagining things, Mr.-Afraid-of-the-Dark.” She replied. 

“I am not afraid of the dark! I just so happen to be much more alert than you right now.” he defended, “And I know how to listen better to my surroundings.” 

“Don’t even start this stupid debate again, you know you’ll lose.” She replied, unfazed by his insults, “And looked around, listen again…”

The only sounds were the evening breeze rustling the foliage, the chatter of jungle bugs and nocturnal creatures, and flow of the water in the river, and the distant roar of the waterfalls in the canyon. They spent several moments in serene silence before the female’s voice broke into the air again. 

“See. Nothing here.” She said, “Just us.” 

“You’re right, as always.” 

“’Course I am.” 

Jessie tugged James’s arm once more. They cleared the last open area of the canyon, and Jessie could finally get that clear shot she was after. 

Jessie tapped his arm. He turned to meet her gaze.

_ Get them to turn their backs to us.  _ She signed, gesturing with her hands to get her point across. She thrust a rock into his hand. Once he’d take it, she drew two of her best throwing knives. He watched them closely and then studied the canyon and the river in across from him and in between them and the guards. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, and then threw it down the canyon, ducking back behind as soon as the rock left his hand. It bounced across the ground and landed in the bushes a few yards in front of them. 

The guards stiffened immediately. They exchanged glances and drew their blasters, heading towards the direction of the sound. James observed Jessie, as she focused on her moving targets. The lights from the base and the moon cast an eerie glow upon her face and her icy eyes, only illuminating part of her stoic, determined expression. He felt a shudder down his spine and the thump of his pulse was suddenly way louder in his ears. His stomach tied itself in a knot and did a somersault. 

And then with a draft of air, Jessie moved fluidly beside him, standing up to her full height over the rocks and flawlessly executed her kill. The knives left her hands and spun through the air, and with a squelch and a crack, they impaled the guards in the back of their necks. 

Immediately, James turned his face away, wincing. The loud thump of dead weight on the canyon floor signaled that the guards had fallen. 

Jessie got up and walked out into the open, held high with the confidence of a champion. James stayed behind, watching from a distance as Jessie tugged, and prodded the guards to make sure they were dead as dust, and then effortlessly plucked the knives from their impaled flesh. 

“Hmph. That was easy enough.” She said. She walked over to the river and used a kerchief and the water to clean the blood off the glinting blades. When she was done with that, she made a point to flip them in her hands and fluidly put them back into their sheaths strapped to her legs. Then, she got down next to the bodies again, turning and started to remove the girl’s mask and cloak. 

When she didn’t feel James’s presence, she glanced over her shoulder, shards of ice piercing into him, “Come on. These are our disguises, help me get them off.” 

James stiffened his posture, “R-right!” He immediately rushed over and got down beside her to get the cloak and mask off the male. He averted his gaze, not wanting to meet her eyes, and focused intently on the task at hand. 

He removed the hood first, and then the mask. When the lifeless face of the grunt beneath it was revealed, there was no stopping the heavy lurch in his chest and the overwhelming pity that enveloped him. The guard looked barely eighteen. 

Beside him, Jessie gasped. James stiffened and turned to face her. Her gaze had softened from the cold, harsh expression from earlier, replaced with pity and a hint of sorrow. 

“Jessie, what’s wrong?” he asked.

At the sound of his voice, she snapped out of it, “N-nothing…just someone I recognized from my days as a street rat. It’s a shame the future wasn’t kind to her…” She blinked away the glossy mist in her eyes and pulled off her shawl. She turned the girl on her back and steepled her lifeless, ashy hands at her abdomen, trying not to stare at the blood that had pooled under her neck, “I’m sorry, Arabella…truly, I am…but you must understand…” She used her shawl to cover the girl’s face. Then she sat there for a few moments, hanging her head. Beside her, James felt his own eyes cloud with emotion again. 

When she felt his gaze on her, though, she abruptly turned to face him. When she did, he saw tiny tears in the corners of her eyes, but they burned away when her expression turned to ice again, “Don’t sit there and stare at me!” she snapped, “Get back to what you’re supposed to be doing. We still have to switch our clothes with their’s!” 

“S-sorry! I just…” He spluttered, as words dried in his throat. He averted his gaze from hers and then resumed his work. 

-xXx-

The cloaks were long enough to cover their Team Rocket armor. They fastened the skull masks around their mouths and tucked their hair into the cloak hoods, which they pulled over their heads. 

They then finished by hiding, and then covering the bodies with their camouflage shawls. “Come on.” Jessie said, the moment the corpses were covered, “We have a job to do.” 

They stood up and turned their backs, exiting the canyon and entering Skull headquarters. And neither of them looked back. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FUN FACT: SM115 is actually the episode number of the anime in which Guzma appears for the first time.


	4. 1-4: Pirate's Lair

(4)

PIRATE’S LAIR

The inside was dimly lit by multi-colored lighting. The cave walls enclosed the two of them in a large echoey cavern, with three different pathways to choose from, each covered by a door. Tropical decorations stretched across the walls of the hallways, and the foyer area they stood in had a blue glow.

“Which path should we choose?” James asked.

“No matter which one, we’re going to run into gangsters. Which is exactly what I want to happen.” She replied, “Come on. Let’s go this way.” She tugged his arm towards the right-side path. He tightened his grip around his blaster with his free hand. The black door bearing the mark of a white skull and crossbones had a keypad requesting an access code.

James walked forward and punched in the code: _ S-M-1-15. _ There was a beep and the keypad lit up green, matching the blinking red light on the door. With a hiss, the double doors automatically opened, and the duo stepped through them. What was revealed was a long corridor with several more doors, each one bearing the same skull and crossbones logo. The smell of burning fire and barbecued food wafted from the double doors at the end, and James concluded they must have found the dormitory area that housed the rooms of the Skull gang grunts. 

It seemed that Lady Luck was on their side today because as they were walking down the corridor, someone came from their room and crossed in front of them. It was another masked Team Skull gangster.

“Hello there! I’m so glad we found you.” Jessie’s face lit up and she strutted over to the figure.

“Hmm?” beady eyes looked up to study them, “Who are you? I’ve never seen you before.”

“Oh, we’re newer recruits. That’s why we look unfamiliar to you!” Jessie replied, “But, even though we’re new, you must hear us out.”

“Yes,” James continued, “From what we understand, the vault is unguarded, yes?”

“Well, yeah. But it’s secured by a lock that can’t be opened unless the boss’s personal code is used.” He replied. 

“We’d like to speak with the boss regarding some concerns we have about the security of the base.”

“Umm…okay?”

“But this place is such a maze and we have no idea where his office is, we’ve forgotten. Could you show us the way, please?” Jessie asked, batting her lashes and smiling with a mock sweetness that terrified James to no end.

For a moment, the grunt skeptically studied the two of them, before he shrugged, “Sure, I guess. Right this way.” He led them back down the hall where they had come from. They walked back into the main cavern and then headed down the middle pathway. The inside revealed another long corridor, with four more dimly lit pathways. He took the one down the middle again. And then in the next cavern did the same thing, until they were all the way at the back of headquarters. When they reached the double doors, they heard the murmur of laughter and upbeat music on the other side of the heavy door.

When they stepped inside, they were engulfed by the reek of smoke and booze. In fact, the smoke was so thick that the air was cloudy. All around them, members of Team Skull lounged on couches with drinks and a barbecue meals, while a band played and Rylothian slave girls danced along to the music, although they were hard to spot among the mess of intoxicated dance partners with nonexistent standards.

A hearty laugh filled the air, one belonging to the boss man himself.

“Right over there.” The grunt pointed through a cloud of smoke. Jessie and James looked ahead. As the smoke cleared, two figures were revealed lounging on one of the couches. One was a man dressed casually in black trousers, a white shirt, and a black jacket. He had a laid-back smile and an undercut that was white on the top. A pair of gold goggles were perched on his head, and in his hand, he held a gold holder for the role he was smoking. Beside him was a woman with dark skin and hair colored yellow and pink. She had sultry gold eyes brightened with white makeup, baggy trousers and a scanty, strappy black top. The grunt led them closer, walking right through the cloud of smoke.

“Guzma,” he announced. Immediately, the man with white hair looked up from his spot. His gaze hardened but his smirk stayed, “Yeah, what is it?”

“These two grunts are here to see you.”

His dark, shadowed gaze immediately fell to Jessie and James. “Sure, what’s up?” Despite that he didn’t even try to change his laid-back posture, Jessie and James could not help but feel a similar brooding intimidation as they did when they faced their own boss after a failed mission.

James cleared his throat, “You see sir, we’re concerned about the security of your vault.”

His gaze hardened, “What about the vault?” His intense glare burned into them. 

“It just doesn’t seem like the best idea to leave a room of such valuable commodities left unguarded. I mean, what if someone came along and stole it? You’d be so upset because all the hard work and lives it took to attain the wealth would have been for nothing.”

Guzma stared at them for a moment, before he began to howl with laughter. The rest of the assembled in the room joined in. Jessie clenched her fists at her sides and tried to force down the anger bubbling up to a boil in her chest. James shifted his gaze towards her, and then briefly ghosted the top of her hand with his fingertips to calm her down.

“I appreciate the concern,” Guzma said, “But the door is secured by a powerful lock and an alarm system.”

“B-but sir,” James continued, “Think of how easily someone could disable the alarm system and pick the lock. There are droids that can easily hack the system. Even if it is protected you can’t _always _trust a computer terminal.”

“Hmm...” Guzma’s expression turned to a thoughtful ponderance.

“It would be a great honor for my partner and I if you would let us help to doubly enforce the security. It would be our pleasure to stand watch at the door of the vault. 24/7 even.” Jessie added with a smile.

A murmur of uncertainty arose from the assembled crowd. “Sir.” Said a stern, female voice. He pulled his gaze from Jessie and James to the owner of the voice. It the woman with the yellow and pink hair and the strappy top. 

“What is it, Plumeria?” he questioned.

“I don’t think you should be so quick to trust them. The recruiters didn’t say anything about new members joining us.”

James’s stomach twisted into another knot.

“Eh, it’s fine. It’s not like they’re from a rival gang or anything, all the gangs here are at peace anyway. And, the recruiter has the tendency to be forgetful, he could have easily forgotten to let us know.” Guzma turned back to face Jessie and James, “Are you sure the two of you are willing to take on such a huge undertaking?”

“Sir, Team Skull’s wealth is a symbol of the-our success and our pride. We’d be humbled to take on such a task!” James reassured.

“Heh. That works for me. Come on then. I’ll show you your new post.” Plumeria’s neutral expression turned to one riddled with uncertainty and annoyance.

Guzma got up from his seat and beckoned them to follow. So, they did. Guzma made his way through the cloud of smoke in the middle of the room. Plumeria followed.

The mob boss’s lanky form walked with a slouched posture, shortening his tall form by a small margin. Jessie glanced over her shoulder. Plumeria kept her gaze fixed on them, keeping her hand at her side, fingers lingering close to the gun in her pocket. 

_ For someone who has a reputation for being ruthless and fierce, he’s so laid-back, _ thought James, _ I was expecting some big, intimidating man not someone who looks like a common bum. But I know more than anyone how deceiving looks can really be. _

-xXx-

Back in the corridor, they took the pathway on the far left of Guzma’s living room, for lack of better words.

“Here’s your new post, grunts.” He said. This door looked different from all of the others. It was just as heavy-duty looking, but this time reminiscent of the shiny door of a safe, with the wheel that spun in the middle to open it up.

“All of my hard-earned riches is in there,” he said, “By taking on this job you’re promising to ensure the safety of my wealth. If you fail, I’ll dispose of you.”

He must have seen them visually stiffen because he laughed and roughly patted James on the shoulder. “Heh. I’m just playin’.” He said, “Have fun with your new job.” With a lazy wave, he turned and vanished down the hall. But Plumeria lingered for a few moments to glare daggers at them.

“Hey, listen,” she said gruffly, “I’m the big sis in charge of all the grunts around here as well as the second-in-command of this group. Therefore, I’m responsible for punishing you if you step out of line. And it won’t be pretty if you do. So, no funny business, got it? I don’t play nice like the boss man.”

James laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his neck and backing up against the rocky cave wall.

“Eh, heh, heh, heh, heh, of course not, wouldn’t dream of it.” Jessie replied, smiling innocently and waving a hand. 

“You’d better not.” She turned and followed her boss, “Let me know if you need anything while you’re here.”

Once they were positive she was gone, Jessie and James turned and exchanged sly smirks.

“I can’t believe it was that easy! They fell for the old disguise trick! Now, all we have to do is get inside, grab the dough, and go!” Jessie said with triumph.

“There’s two problems, though, Jess: the security system and smuggling the stolen credits out.” 

“Don’t worry your pretty little head, James. I’ve got that covered.” She took out her commlink and spoke into it, “Come in, Shiloh.”

A few moments later she received a response. _“This is Shiloh. Is something wrong?”_

“No. James and I got to the vault, but there’s an alarm system that will activate if we try to open the door. I need you and Yolary to find the control room and use Woba Fett to disable the security system.” 

_“That should be easy enough,”_ Jessie heard Yolary’s voice on the other end, “_We passed the control room when we were looking for the arsenal.”_

“Speaking of, have you found it yet?”

_ “We haven’t, but Alexis and Bresmin may have.” _ Shiloh replied.

James’s commlink sounded almost on cue, “_ Alexis to James, we found the arsenal.” _

“Excellent.” James replied.

“Perfect,” Jessie added, speaking into James’s device, “Now just wait for my cue. On your guard.” She turned back to her own and spoke into it again, “Shiloh, let me know as soon as you’re clear.”

_ “Ma’am!” _ she acknowledged quickly. With a click, her voice was gone, and Jessie and James were left in silence. They stood there, then, trying to look and act as natural as possible. They kept their clammy hands clenched, one at their side, and the other firmly placed upon their guns. They exchanged glances every so often, standing and listening to the suffocating, noisy silence. It was so quiet that they could hear the distant tick-tock of a second hand on the clock, and it matched the steady beating of their pulse in their ears.

Then the sound of footsteps cut in. In tandem, both Jessie and James visually stiffened and studied the long corridor in front of them. A grunt passed by, whistling a merry tune, taking no notice of the disguised Team Rocket gangsters.

To ease the tension in the room, James began to animatedly babble on about his precious Chimecho, a Convor he had once had as a companion, and used to call his “first and last” love. It was some story about the cute habits she used to have, and how beautiful she used to sing. An old, repetitive subject which was of no interest to Jessie. But still, despite her disinterest, his smooth and fluctuant voice calmed the nerves she did not dare admit she had. 

To be honest though, she found herself being so drawn into the story, despite that she had heard it so many times, that she nearly forgot where they were and what they were doing. But she was snapped back to reality when Yolary’s voice sounded over the commlink. 

_ “We disabled the security system, you should be able to get inside without setting off any alarms now.” _She said.

“Perfect,” Jessie replied, “Have Shiloh pass the message onto Alexis and Bresmin.”

_ “Right away.” _

Once the communication device was clicked on, Jessie and James scanned their gazes around to make sure no one was coming.

“Type in that security code, James.” Jessie said, “I’m going to look around the corner.” She drew her gun and started to move down the hall, keeping her body pressed against the hall of the cave. James turned to focus his attention on the keypad. Slowly, and meticulously, he punched in each of the characters one by one. The keypad turned red and let out an angry series of error beeps. James stiffened, and felt his stomach began to churn again.

_ Let me try again…maybe I typed it wrong… _ He tried it a second time. It still didn’t work. _ Damnit! _

His heart rate began to increase. _ Alright...calm down. Just take a breath and try it again. _He inhaled…1,2,3, 4…and exhaled..5,6,7,8…He tried the code again. It still didn’t work.

Jessie poked her head around the corner, “James, what’s taking so long? How hard is it to type in a security code!?”

“I’m trying but it isn’t working!” he replied, green gaze going wide with panic.

“Urrrgh! If you want something done right, you have to do it yourself, I always say…” she made her way over to him, “Go stand guard, I’ll handle this.” She pushed him in front of her, down the hall a bit.

“Wait-but Jess, it isn’t going to—”

“Oh! Just shut up and do what I say!” she snipped. There was no arguing with her, he knew better. So, begrudgingly, he headed down the hall with his blaster drawn. And as he did, he nearly collided with Plumeria.

“AGGH!” he yelped, “Oh—oh it’s you…uhh…” She studied him quizzically, before her gold eyes found the blaster in his hand, pointed directly at her. He looked at it, flushed red, and with a guilty chuckle he lowered the weapon.

“Sorry…I didn’t mean to point my weapon at you…I just got scared, see…I thought you were an_ intruder _coming to steal from the vault.” He adjusted the fluctuation of his voice, putting an emphasis on the word “intruder”.

“Umm…uhh…sorry…did you, uh, need something…umm…” he continued to splutter.

“You okay?” she questioned.

“Yes, yes, totally fine! You were so quiet and running into you just really spooked me is all! I’m really quite skittish, you see…”

“Right…” She trailed off, “Ahem. My apologies. But I figured you and your friend might be hungry, so I brought you a snack from the party.” It was then he realized she was carrying a bowl with some tasty looking tropical fruits in it. And in that moment, James’s stomach growled. She held the bowl out for him to take. 

“Wow…that’s very nice of you, thank you.”

“Eh. What can I say? It’s my job to watch over any new grunts that come in, even if they’re a total surprise.”

“Right, of course…” he pulled something from his belt. It was a very familiar flower, in a beautiful blue color, “Here, a rose, for the trouble you went through taking your time to bring us a snack!”

She took the flower and nodded, face dusting pink as she muttered a quiet thank you, “Well. Seeing that everything is in order here,” she had returned to her stoic state, “I’ll be off now.” She walked back down the hall from whence she came, waving with her back turned to him. When she was gone, he exhaled.

“That was close…” he said to himself.

“URGGH! THAT’S IT! I’M BREAKING IT DO-“

James tucked the fruit bowl to his chest and bolted back to the door of the vault as quickly as he could, “Shh! Sh, sh, sh, shhh!” he yelped, “They’ll hear us!”

“Don’t you shush me!” Jessie exclaimed, “I give the orders around—”

“Jessie, they’ll be sure to hear you breaking down the door.” James said.

“I don’t get it. This stupid code is defective.”

James and Jessie exchanged weary glances. “What are we going to do?” James asked.

“We’re going to have to ask Shiloh to open the door for us.” Jessie said.

Just then, the woman in question’s voice appeared on the screen. _ “Jessie, James, what are you doing? The cameras are showing us that you’re still outside the door! You need to hurry up, Alexis and Bresmin are already inside the arsenal.” _Shiloh’s voice was riddled with concern.

Jessie shoved herself into James and spoke into the commlink, “Well _ good _for them,” She sneered, “Look! It’s not our fault. The master security code Domino gave us isn’t working on the vault door!”

_ “I can try to open it, but it’ll set off alarms and they’ll know I’m here.” _ She replied.

Jessie hesitated but then said, “Well, we have to get in somehow.” _ Click. _

“H-hang on just a moment Jess…we can’t put her at risk like that. We’ll try the code one more time. And if it doesn’t work we’ll break down the door…or something.”

Jessie scoffed, “Fine.” she said, “We’ll try it again.” _ Click. _ “Hang on, Shiloh.”

James turned back to the keypad and punched in the combination again. It turned green, along with the light on the door, and a satisfying click signaled the door had open. Again, Jessie and James exchanged glances.

“See, Jess. I told you.” James turned the wheel and the heavy door swung open.

She clicked on the commlink again, “For some reason, the code worked this time. Hmph. Team Skull can’t even have a decent security system. Pathetic. Resume the mission.” They went inside a room that was stacked the brim with piles of credits, and chests overflowing with jewels and rare artifacts.

“Ooo!” Jessie squealed, “Look at all this!”

“Let’s just grab what we need and go.” He said, “Over there.” He pointed to a pile of credits in the corner of the room that still had the roping around them keeping them together.

Jessie went forward and drew her knife to cut the rope off so they could gather and carry the stacks more efficiently. They pulled burlap sacks from their cloaks and began to fill the bags with the money.

Within a few short moments, they had gathered everything they needed. James began to triple check that they had grabbed the exact amount

With a huff, Jessie closed her bag, “That’s that. Come on, let’s get out—” She was cut off abruptly when the lights around them turned red and the alarms started screaming. Jessie hoisted the sack over her shoulder and then started to take off towards the door.

A panicked voice sounded over the commlink- _ “Jessie, James,” _ She gasped, “ _ The alarms went off…w-we tried to hold them off but they’ve gotten in to the control room, you need to—” _ A single laser from a blaster was heard and the line went dead.

James’s heart lurched. It didn’t take a genius to figure out that the girl had been gunned down. And it was all his fault. He dropped the commlink and clenched his fists at his sides, arms trembling. He couldn’t move. There was blocks of lead in his feet.

“JAMES, HURRY!”

A loud, chilling creak through the high-pitched screeches of the alarm jerked him back into reality. He turned, the vault door was closing. And Jessie had taken off down the hall already. The pulse in his ears filled his head and he felt the familiar twist of stomach knots as his breath begin to speed up. He scrambled and began to gather the rest of what he needed, gaze darting between the slowly closing doors and the task at hand.

He tried to pick up the sack, but his shaking knees made it difficult to do so. The darkness in the room started to close in on him.

He went to pick it up again. The rough burlap scraped his hands and he buckled to the ground with the stack of credits. _ God dammit! Why is it so heavy!? _

He dared glance at the door again. For some reason, now the heavy slow-paced closing of the door seemed to increase in speed. Panic rose in his throat and his vision blurred in and out as he tugged desperately at the sack, pulling it towards the door. But this sorry attempt was going to get him nowhere. Jessie was already gone…already…he was going to get stuck…stuck…alone…failure…guilty…Jessie…Jessie had to get out…

The blood pulsed in his ears and his shallow breath became even more labored. He tried to fling the sack out the closing door. When he did, every muscle in his shoulders screamed in pain.

“JESSIE!” he called out the closing door, “YOU HAVE TO GO ON WITHOUT ME! I’LL BE FINE!” he gasped, “GET OUT OF HERE!”

He saw her freeze in the hallway and look over her shoulder. Feet echoed in the caverns, making their way towards the vault.

“JESSIE, JUST GO!” He cried, his voice strained and desperate, “You have to…” He took a few steps back from the door. He smiled and closed his eyes, welcoming the darkness.

-xXx-

She was halfway to the exit when she heard the cry. “JESSIE, YOU HAVE TO GO ON WITHOUT ME! I’LL BE FINE! GET OUT OF HERE!”

She froze. She jerked around and her heart dropped to her stomach. The door to the vault was closing, and James was still inside. Her heart rate increased tenfold. In the distance, she could hear the gunshots and the commotion…over the alarm, she heard the thundering feet.

_James…James…_ She snapped her gaze about. She had two choices, to leave him behind…or try and save him. Their eyes met from across the room. The weight of the sack was heavy in her arms. Her mind spun with conflicting thoughts.

“JESSIE, JUST GO!” James cried. 

She hardened her gaze, took a breath, and then went. 


	5. 1-5: Firefight

(5)

FIREFIGHT

** _15 years ago…_ **

_In his tangled state of mind, riddled with exhaustion, the boy thought the girl who had just saved him was some sort of angel. Once she’d scared that preteen gang off, she approached him slowly, and he felt himself shrinking under her gaze. She was barely older than him, a year or two at most. _

_When she became illuminated by murky city light, his stomach dropped, his heart began to race and his breath started to speed up with shaking gasps. Too weak from the cold to get up, he curled into himself and started to shiver. _

_She was looming…she looked just like…just like…no! He felt fear crawl into his chest, and his stomach twisted into knots so painful that he felt like he was going to hurl. No! Please don’t hit me again! I don’t know what I did but I’m sorry and I promise I promise I promise to never, never do it again! _

_“Hey, are you okay? Did they hurt you bad?” She spoke in common tongue. _

_He said nothing to her. He continued to shudder, and burning tears pooled down his cheek. He dared not look up at her, even when her felt her warmth as she got down by his side. She He felt a gentle hand begin to rub his back. _

_“I know, it’s scary to get cornered by a gang, I’ve been there. But they’re gone now, I fought them off. You’ll be alright, I’m here…” _

_So warm…so gentle…I can’t remember the last time anybody’s touched me so nicely like this…_

_“You don’t need to cry. You can look up now.” _

_He slowly lifted his wide-eyed, tear-filled gaze. He was met with a soft, if not melancholy smile on a rosy, blue-eyed face. She had freckles all over her nose and cheeks. There was a small cut on her cheek, that was bleeding. _

_“You-you’re…you’re hurt…” he choked out, voice hoarse and weak. _

_The girl briefly touched her cheek, “Oh that? It’s nothing. Just a tiny scratch.” _

_He coughed, and the cough was immediately followed by a sneeze. A shiver wracked his frail body. _

_“Here, get up off the ground.” She said. She stood, and offered a rosy, plump hand. His pale, shaky one reached for her, and she helped him up. The moment she did, he stumbled and staggered into her. She steadied him. _

_Then, she immediately pulled off her coat. “Here. Your hands are freezing.” He took the garment without a second thought and put it on. It was too big, hanging off his thin frame. _

_“Thank you…” he said weakly. _

_“My name is Jessica.” She said, “But everyone calls me Jessie. What about you?” _

_“James.” _

_“Come on, James, I know somewhere warm we can go.” She told him. Again, she held out her hand. He took it without much hesitation. As he did, he coughed again. _

_“You don’t look so good.” She observed, “Like you’re feeling sick or something. How long have you been out in the cold by yourself like this?” _

_“I don’t know…” he spoke in almost a murmur it was so quiet, “A long time.” _

_“Well, we better get you someplace warm and fast. It’s not good to be outside in weather like this. You could get very sick and even die.” They made their way out of the dimly lit alleyway, and they were met with dark colored speeder that pulled up to them almost in sync to their exit. A woman in dark clothing got out immediately. James immediately hid behind Jessie, who was taller than he was. _

_“Jessie, there you are! Where have you been, young lady? What have we told you about going off on your own? I know you grew up on the streets but just because you’re familiar with street smarts doesn’t mean you--” _

_“I know Celestina, I’m sorry.” She hung her head in shame. Celestina sighed._

_“I’m just glad that you’re alright.” _

_“Celestina…” Jessie side- stepped to reveal James behind her, “I found this boy out here getting bullied by some kids from another gang. We have to help him, he’s all alone and he’s sick from the cold.”_

_Almost on cue, the shivering boy coughed. Celestina studied him for a moment before going over to him. His eyes went wide at the sight of the adult, and he stiffened, shrinking into himself. She lifted a hand. _

_Immediately when she did, he winced and shielded himself with shaking arms. _

_“I’m not going to hurt you, little one,” she said, “I only want to feel your head to check for a fever.” _

_He felt Jessie’s little hand on his shoulder. “It’s okay, James. Celestina is nice, I promise. She wants to help you, too.”_

_He hesitantly complied. A warm hand pressed against his forehead. “He’s burning up.” She said, “We’ll take him back to headquarters.” Once again, her attention fell to him. _

_“Can I pick you up? You must be very tired.” _

_He nodded slowly. So, she lifted him into her arms. “Jessie, I’m going to put him in the back seat with you. Your job will be to accompany him and look after him, okay?” _

_“Yes, ma’am!” So, Celestina carried him to the speeder. He was given a blanket, and put in the back seat with Jessie, who pulled him into her side so that they could share body heat. _

_“You’ll be okay, James. I’m watching over you, now.”_

A body slammed into him, and he crashed to the floor. The door clicked behind him, and he was enveloped in a warm embrace. When he opened his eyes again, in a mess of labored breathing, he saw a pair of blue eyes meet his. His heart lurched and his eyes misted up.

_Why…_

-xXx-

She hardened her gaze, took a breath, and went. The sack thumped to the ground, echoing through the cave walls, and she made a b-line for the closing door. When she reached it, she dove through the crack between the wall and the heavy, moving metal. Her leg barely made it in, and she collided into James with a harsh force, throwing her arms around him.

-xXx-

For several labored moments, they remained in this position, just staring at each other with wide eyes, before Jessie pulled her body off his.

“Jessie...why did you…” Again, she threw herself onto him, this time for a desperate embrace.

“I thought I was going to lose you…” she murmured. He froze at the advance, but he remained in her embrace for a few fleeting seconds, but then pushed her away.

“Lose me? What about the mission…I told you to go but you didn’t listen! Why didn’t you take the credits and leave!?” he snapped.

Her expression blazed for a moment, but then fell with hurt. “Why didn’t I…?” she echoed, “I just saved your ass and this is how you thank me!?”

“No! No, you didn’t! In case you didn’t notice, now we’re both trapped in this vault! Our teammates are dead and now this mission is blown! They died for nothing!” 

Jessie visually stiffened, clenching her fists together. James took a step back, a fire still burning in his green eyes. Jessie’s gaze snapped to the cave wall. She drew her blaster and fired several times. The lasers blew a hole in the wall, and they were met with a blinding moonlight.

“It isn’t.” she said. James blinked. The harsh banging on the door carried over the sound of the alarm.

“Let’s go!” she said, “We’ll load what we can on the speeder bikes.” He crammed some more credits into the sack and turned and went out the gaping hole in the wall. He turned and left the room with the commodities.

Jessie followed, tucking herself on the side of the gaping hall. The door slammed open, and the intruders were met with a face full of laser bullets, falling dead.

Jessie turned and bolted into the canyon.

“There she is!” yelled a voice, “Don’t let her escape!” Jessie glanced over her shoulder. A group of Team Skull grunts was pursuing her through the hole in the wall, and the person barking orders was none other than their old friend Plumeria. She dove to the ground, a shower of bullets barely missing her, and then rolled into a nearby bush for cover.

She waited there, slowing her breathing as their feet thundered in the echoing walls. When they were close enough, she hurled her knives at them, each one met their mark, and bodies thumped to the ground. With her pursuers dead, she took off down the gorge again.

She followed the sound of the waterfall, hoping it would lead her back where they had started. Through a series of twists and turns, she wove around meandering pathways, following the flow of the river. She turned another corner, and she found herself right back at the river and front entrance, but this time she met the unfriendly faces of grunts. They had her surrounded. They were gathered around on crags and around her, all with their guns pointed in her direction. And Plumeria was right in the middle of it all, and her gun was pointed right between Jessie’s eyes. 

“Drop your weapon.” She said, “You’re surrounded.”

Jessie smirked, “No matter what I do, you aren’t going to win, Plumeria.”

“I won’t win because I already have. I don’t see anyone around here on your team. We killed them all in case you’ve forgotten.”

Jessie’s smile only widened. The roar of the waterfall made in difficult to hear, but she still picked up on the murmur of an engine.

“Not all of them.”

In that moment, a shower of stun lasers filled the canyon, and the engine from a familiar speeder bike roared and echoed as James burst through the trees, over the cliffside and into the gorge. One hand was on the steering and the other was firing a shiny new blaster. He zoomed towards her, and took her arm, pulling her onto the back. She held on tight as he zipped down the gorge. He veered sharply, side to side and up and down, avoiding the shower of lasers behind them. Jessie latched onto his waist as they flew toward a less steep part of the cliffs that allowed them to use the uphill climb as an ascent out of the gorge and into the jungle.

The makeshift ramp left them airborne for a moment, with their hair blowing in the drafts. Jessie glanced over her shoulder as the murmur or more engines sounded behind. A group of bikers were following close behind, led by an erratic Guzma. 

“YOU WON’T ESCAPE _ME _ALIVE, THIEVES!” He growled. Jessie’s eyes narrowed.

“We’ll see about that.” She stood up on the bike.

“Jessie, what are you-“

“Just keep driving, James! Get us to the ship!” The bike veered sharply to one side, and Jessie stumbled. Then, while holding onto strap on the seat in front of her with one hand, she raised one of her legs and stepped down onto the right side of the bike. It leaned heavily, tilting sideways from her weight.

“Lean left, James!” she ordered. He did, and it gave her just enough momentum to switch the direction she was facing. Now she was backwards and could keep a sharp eye on those pursuers. She stood up on the bike, lodging her hand into the rough ropes that held the sack of credits down on the back. She began firing at the squad of bikers, knocking down the first ones in front. Guzma veered out of the way of the bullets, his eyes blazing.

James leaned the bike to the right for a sharp turn, just missing the dense trees beside them. Guzma and his gang were just as quick to follow.

“Can you give this thing more gas!?” she called over her shoulder.

“Just as long as you can keep your balance!” James replied.

“Of course, I can! Full throttle!”

James twisted the gear. The bike lurched forward. Jessie stumbled, digging her hand into the rope and receiving a searing burn in the process. She hissed in pain but continued to fire a shower of bullets at the bikers.

Another violent jerk indicated another sharp turn. Behind them, they heard several thumps and cracks and gangsters collided into tree trunks.

They continued at this high speed, across straight paths, and sharp turns, left, right, up, and down, engines roaring, bullets firing, disrupting the peace. The bike swerved violently through the dense jungle, as if they were in some wild race, ripping remorselessly through the green flora. 

Her pulse pounded in her ears, and the wind had tousled her hair enough to loosen it from its updo. A few wayward strands found their way into her face, obstructing her eagle-eyed gunner view. Trees and foliage passed in a blurry green haze all around her, and wind whipped through her clothes, forcing the airy cloak into the way of the driver.

“Jessie! You have to get your cloak off, I can’t see!” Almost as soon he said that something shook the entire bike as he swiped into one of the nearby trees. Jessie stumbled. They’d slowed down now, and the Team Skull bikers were gaining on them.

“James, watch out!”

“The cloak, Jessie!” And that statement gave her an idea. She shoved her blaster back into its holster for a brief second and undid the clamp. She tightened her grip around one side, and let the cloak fall off her neck and flap rapidly in the wind. Her eyes narrowed. There were three bikers left. Guzma, and two others. Jessie released her grip on the cloak.

The wind carried it right towards them. Guzma managed to dodge, but the mass of fabric obstructed the views of the other two drivers, sending them crashing.

“Jessie, DUCK!” James cried. She glanced over her shoulder, they were headed right towards a dense, leafy branch that stretched into the pathway. She buckled downwards, face smacking in the lumpy sack of credits. The bike narrowly missed.

When Jessie got up again, the force of the landing had left her with a throbbing, bloody nose. Guzma laughed maniacally from behind and drew his blaster and began to fire. Jessie kept her body as hunched as possible, bullets soaring over her head and clipping the metal body of the bike. She pulled her gun from its holster and fired blindly. She got about six rounds before the gun ran out of ammunition.

_Shit!_

The ride became even bumpier, and they were so low to the ground that the bottom began clipping the dirt, throwing pebbles and dust in the wake, metal sparking from the friction. The engine began to cough. James started to lose his momentum.

“James! We need to find somewhere to park!” Jessie cried. The shower of lasers continued and Guzma burst into view.

“DON’T THINK YOU CAN GET AWAY WITH MY HARD-EARNED MONEY!” Guzma roared, “NOW, YOU’VE MADE ME FURIOUS! AND WHEN I GET FURIOUS, NOTHING GETS IN THE WAY OF MY SUCCESS!” he howled with maniac laughter.

He was catching up to them. First, he was on their tail, and the damaged bike could not shake him. The metal from the foot pedals scraped against each other and he was at their side, locking the two bikes into place. His chilling smile matched his blazing eyes, and he had his gun aimed right between Jessie’s eyes, and his other hand gripped the rope on the sack.

“Any last words, Missy?” he hissed. With blazing eyes, both hands latched onto the ropes. In a split second, she peeled the bloody, rope burned hand, yanked a knife from her holster and shoved it into his eye. With a sickening squelch, blood began to spray from the injury, splotching onto her face. He let out a blood-curdling scream of pain. She twisted the knife further into the eye. He jerked his body backward, using the hand that was gripping the handlebars to clutch his eye. He fell off the seat, landing into the nearby foliage. James jerked their bike the other way, and it began to skid, sending the two of them flying into the bushes on the opposite side of the jungle path.

Both Jessie and James screamed in surprise, and Jessie’s cry was cut off abruptly when she crashed violently into the ground and rolled to a halt, the world going black around her.

* * *

“Jessie! Jessie! Get up! Please, get up! Come on!” Someone was prodding her. She blinked slowly, lifting her head with a groan. Every inch of her body ached and throbbed, and her hand was stinging from rope burn. Her vision came into focus to meet James’s concerned gaze.

“Are you okay?” He was leaning over her, with his hand still placed upon her back.

“Everything hurts…” she groaned, “Could you have landed a little smoother?”

James chuckled. “Maybe if a psychopath wasn’t latched onto my bike.” He replied. He stood and offered her a hand, “Here. Let’s get you up. You think you can stand?”

“I can try.” He reached for the crook of her arm to get a better grip on her and pulled her up. The moment he did, she stumbled forward into him. He caught her and steadied her.

“Come on. The _Zeppelin _is just up ahead.”

“Right…” and that was when she remembered, “Shit! We’re on a mission! The credits! We have to find the—”

“They’re right there.” James pointed to the wrecked bike. The sack was unharmed right beside it.

“We’re not leaving without the money.” Jessie said sharply.

“Alright. We won’t.” So, James ended up carrying the sack over his shoulder and supporting Jessie with the other.

They loaded the credits in the cargo hold of the ship and then got into to cockpit. They buckled in and started the engine. It lit up and roared to life. They lifted off the ground. And just as they did a steady, artificial breeze lit passed through the trees around them, and bright lights illuminated the jungle. Off in the distance, a small group of Team Skull’s ships was making their way over.

“Jess! We’ve got company!”

“Urrgh, they just _don’t _give up!” she growled, “Well, we aren’t going to let them catch us! Let’s go! Full throttle!”

Team Skull’s fleet broke the clearing. Jessie and James floored the ignition, and the ship jolted forward, climbing into the sky and towards the space with the rival gang close behind. 


	6. 1-6: Say Your Right Words

(6)

SAY YOUR RIGHT WORDS

The high-speed chase took them to the stratosphere, passed Rishi’s starry sky and into the chilling void of space. With their armor and helmets on once more, Jessie and James ripped through sharp, whipping turns, and harsh ups and downs. They wove aggressively between space rock and debris, with the Team Skull squad on their tail in their fighter jets. They were showered by the pew of lasers as a very livid Plumeria chased after them.

They had many close calls, whirlwind turns that would have made them dizzy if not for their rigorous training.

“James, go to the gun and fight back!” Jessie barked.

“Roger!” He turned the co-pilot on auto and unbuckled his seatbelt. He stumbled out of the cockpit, staggering towards the back of the _Zeppelin. _Jessie hit a sharp turn, sending James flying across the floor and colliding with a nearby wall. He pulled away and shook it out and helped himself to the ship’s gun, ignoring the bloody nose.

He climbed into the seat and buckled in, and then focused the scope in the viewfinder. When he used the turret to aim the weapon, his worn seat moved with it. He narrowed his eyes to aim.

He pressed the “Fire” button. Plumeria’s ship jolted upward, but the unlucky person to her right suffered the consequence of the hit instead.

James’s laser took out one of the wings, and the ship went spiraling out of control and into oblivion.

“Yes! I got one!” he shrilled.

“Keep it up!” Jessie replied. From behind, several more lasers fired. Jessie tugged the steering in skill full and rapid dodges. James continued to fire at the enemy. But they were just as skilled pilots as Jessie was, and they weren’t going down without a fight.

Jessie steered them to an escape route, all the while trying to find coordinates to a safe place they could land. But she wasn’t the navigator. James was. So, for right now, she was unable to jump to hyperspace and just had to focus on losing them.

“Take that! And that!” James called from his spot at the gun. Jessie smirked despite herself.

From behind her, two bright explosions erupted, indicating that James had made two more hits. Jessie sped up, the squad eating her dust behind.

They continued to whip through the stars, Jessie’s intense eyes focusing on the drive in the endless space void, relying on James to keep the enemy ships off them. He seemed to be doing a decent job, thus far, despite that they were severely outnumbered. The symphony of explosions behind them were tell-tale signs of that.

“Agh! Dammit!” James huffed, “Whenever I shoot one down, two more take its place!”

“Doesn’t matter how many, just keep firing!” Jessie replied. Her response was a chorus of gunshots and James sent out a shower of bullets.

Jessie’s heart thumped wildly in her chest, adrenaline burning through her core as she continued to rip and spin through the multi-colored sky.

Something thumped into the side of the ship and rattled the cockpit, ripping a chunk of metal from the body. A powerful jolt was felt throughout the entirety of the aircraft. A series of aggressive warning beeps followed. Jessie gritted her teeth. 

“We’ve been hit!” James’s panicked voice rang clear across the room.

“I know that!” Jessie yelled through her clenched teeth, tugging at the steering to get it back under some form of control, “But you don’t need to worry about that! Just keep firing, you’re the gunner, I’m the pilot!”

Another blast hit the body. Metal sparked inside. The volume inside was engulfed with the acrid burnt smell. The _Zeppelin _was knocked to the side. With a determined grunt, Jessie pulled the wheel back into place. More alarms started blaring.

A third blast hit the aircraft and it began to spin out of control. The shrill scream of the alarms was now louder than the firefight raging outside.

“Shit! Not good!” Jessie exclaimed, “JAMES, YOU’RE SUPPOSED TO BE KEEPING THEM OFF MY ASS!” Through her dizzy state and blurred vision, Jessie pulled the steering wheel to one side. The ship leaned and skidded through space, a shower of lasers following. Once her vision came into focus again, the diagram on the screen in front of her showed the ship had taken damage to its sides. She pressed a button in the co-pilot control panel to fire off the guns at the bow of the ship. They collided with the lasers flying towards them, creating a series of miniature explosions in front of Jessie’s windshield.

She jerked the steering upward, dodging more neon blows. One clipped the rudder. She cursed again, but then resumed her twists, spins and loops to make her escape.

Meanwhile, James’s head was pounding, and his vision blurred in and out. He struggled to get a clear view with Jessie’s jerky flying tactics. He fired blindly. He paid no attention to where he was aiming but hoped he would hit his targets. The only thing that came clear into his vision was a distant but blinding spot of light. It was headed straight towards him.

His eyes went wide. He released his grip on the handles. He tore off his belt. He dove off the seat, rolling harshly across the metal floor and out of the way. A laser beam made a clean shot into the stern and the gun. The hit caused another violent jolt.

His chest heaved and he gasped for breath, eyes wide from the impact that almost pulverized him.

“JAMES!?” Jessie screeched, “Are you okay!? Talk to me!”

He groaned and lifted his head. When he saw the damage of the smoking metal he screamed. “AHHHHH! THEY TOOK OUT MY GUN!”

“F**K!” Damn Skull Grunts!” she hissed, “Get back up here!” James stumbled into the cockpit as the ship rattled and rocked.

Once he was seated, they took several more hits. Together, through the screaming alarms and jarring movements of an unstable ship, they fought to gain some sort of momentum. But it was to no avail.

James’s wide eyes and panicked voiced cried out over the noise, “Jessie, we’ve lost control, we can’t—”

A massive “Kaboom” then filled the air behind them, and the ship began to plummet towards the nearest planet, sucked in by the gravitational pull.

“All systems down!” Jessie said, “We’re crashing!” With nothing to keep it in the air, the ship began to pick up speed, rushing headlong, nose down into the nearest planet. They pressed their bodies back into their seat and screwed their eyes shut.

James felt Jessie’s clammy hand grip onto and tightly squeeze his.

“Goodbye Jessie…” his voice broke with defeat and pain. They braced themselves as the ship plummeted like waste towards the unwelcome ground. On impact, the world went black. 

* * *

Everything ached. He couldn’t move. It was dark. The air felt heavy. It reeked a suffocating scent of charred metal and acrid smoke. When he listened, he heard white noise and garbled voices.

“There’s no way they could have survived the crash.”

“I think I saw ‘im breathin’.”

“They weren’t movin’.”

“Could be out cold.”

“It don’t matter. I don’t give a rat’s ass. Just find the goods and get out of here.”

“And keep your clammy hands off the girl.” Barked a female voice. James felt a spark of something well up in his chest, but he was in too much pain. So, all he could do was helplessly lay there and listen to the heavy footsteps walk around the back. For several painful moments, he listened, with his heart echoing in his head. He couldn’t see anything, and he couldn’t move a muscle.

“We got ‘em.”

“Then let’s move. Leave the bodies.” The voices faded and soon after, the whoosh of ships and drafts of smog-scented wind went to silence.

His head pounded. He snapped his eyes open and let out a strained gasp as the surge of recent memories enveloped his muddled mind. Immediately, he snapped his gaze around. All around him was darkness, broken glass, and silence. In some areas, the ship was still smoking. His eyes found the figure in the pilot seat.

His breathing became labored and ragged, and his heartbeat increased a thousand times one. “JESSIE!” he called, “JESSIE!” Shaking hands desperately fought to pry the jammed belt free. The longer it took the more panicked he became, and in an instant, he tore the knife from his holster and sliced the strap clean off. He scrambled over to her, tearing off his helmet in the process. Pain pulsated in his spine and superficial scratches stung. He tugged her helmet off, her curtain of hair falling in magenta pools around her shoulders. Her eyes were closed. Face pale. She was still.

His heart lurched, “Jessie!” he prodded her shoulder, “Jessie, can you hear me!?”

No response. His eyes stung with tears. “Jessie, wake up!” he continued to prod, “Jess, come on!” He pressed his ear to her face to listen for breath. She was breathing. He rolled her onto her side and checked for a pulse. There was one. Thank goodness.

He once again tried calling her, “JESSICA MUSASHI DON’T MAKE ME KISS YOU!” he yelled, voice cracking. She groaned and slowly opened her eyes, and blue pools met with bright green.

“Damn. You yell so loud. A girl needs her beauty sleep you know.” Her voice was weak and a little hoarse, but there was a tiny smile on her face.

James went in for a gentle embrace and sighed with relief. “You’re alright. Here.” He laboriously helped her into a sitting position, and then took his water canteen from beside his seat, “Drink some.” He said.

She took the canteen, opened the cap and took a long swig. 

“How do you feel?” James asked.

“Like I just crash-landed twice, hit my head, got whiplash twice, and failed a mission. Aching everywhere.”

James sighed and took a sip of water, “You and I both.”

Jessie leaned forward and let out a hiss of pain. When James gave her a worried glance, she shook it off and tinkered with buttons.

“All communications and systems are dead. I can’t get a read on anything.” Jessie said, “I don’t even know where we are.”

“We can have a look around,” James said, “But first, there’s injuries to be tended to. Can you walk, Jess?”

She shakily tried to stand and winced.

“I hurt everywhere but I’ll manage.” She replied. He stood beside her, keeping a supportive hand on her back as he led her to the passenger area of the ship. Although there were holes and bent beams every which where, somehow the old, torn up loveseat had managed to stay intact. Even though he had no hopes for it, James still checked the light. It flickered when he touched the switch, but came on nonetheless. The mess of debris, broken glass and upturned everything was revealed in the dim yellow light. He helped Jessie onto the cushions of the sofa.

“I’m going to go grab the first aid kit.” He went back into the cockpit and reached into his side pocket again to produce it. When he returned, he found that Jessie had shamelessly stripped down to her undergarments, the under-armor brassiere, and skin-tight shortie shorts, revealing her lean, toned body and tattooed shoulder. He examined her from head to toe, looking for any obvious injuries.

The Team Skull disguise had left her with scraped up knees, with other scratches and scrapes on her face and hands, and some nasty bruising, but for the most part, her armor had done its job. He sat down beside her. He poured some alcohol on fabric pads.

“This’ll sting a little.” He warned. She shrugged. He carefully wiped the dirt and dried blood clean, starting with her face and working his way down, since he knew she was very particular about her face. When he was done, he neatly and meticulously tied a bandage on her hand and on both knees. Then, he turned her attention to the worst of her beat-up body. The worst injury was a nasty, colossal bruise on her side. The broken blood vessels beneath swelled and painted her alabaster skin with ugly reds, purples, and blues. There was a small scrape on the side of it, but that was nothing compared to the rest.

“I’m going to feel for broken ribs.” he said. He got down on his knees and reached, putting his hands around her sides. He gently prodded and pressed, being as careful as possible so as not to hurt her. Although he didn’t feel anything strange, besides the warmth from the swelling, he pulled out a little blue, handheld device that took a brief X-ray. Nothing.

“Nothing broken.” James reported, “That’s the good news.”

“And what’s the bad news, then?”

“The bad news is that you’re still going to be really sore and you’re going to need to rest up.”

“Great.” Jessie scoffed. With her level of ambition, there was nothing she hated more than being idle. James took out a rectangular pack from the first aid box. He cracked it inwards. It turned blue and instantly went cold. He wrapped it in a strip of fabric.

“Can you lay down?” he asked.

“I guess.” Jessie stretched her body across the couch and slowly went into a lounging position, with her bruised side exposed. James carefully set the cold pack across the bruising.

“There.” He said. He got up and stepped back. Satisfied with his work, he quickly tended his own minor bumps, cuts, and bruises. Jessie was way worse off than he was. When he was done, he yawned and sat down on the floor next to the loveseat, using the stolen cloak to provide a feeble amount of cushion.

He leaned backwards against the couch, tilting his head up to gaze at Jessie.

“Hey, Jess?”

“Yeah, what is it, James?”

“I’m sorry we failed the mission…” he trailed off sadly.

Jessie sighed, “Don’t apologize.” she said softly, “It doesn’t matter. We failed and there’s nothing we can do.”

“It’s all my fault…” James despaired.

“No. Don’t even start that, James.” Her voice was so tired and defeated that what would normally be aggressive was a weak scold instead, brimming with the gentle kindness she only reserved for him.

“But if I wouldn’t have suggested…if I would have just let Shiloh open the vault…then we wouldn’t have forced it to open and the alarms wouldn’t have gone off, our teammates wouldn’t have died and you wouldn’t have had to go in after me and maybe we could have escaped and…” the longer he spoke, the faster the tempo and desperate emotion in his voice got. 

“James.” Jessie said, “Just stop, okay? I’m too tired for this. We both failed. I was the leader of the mission and my decision to save you is what ultimately led to our failure. You tried to convince me to leave you, but I didn’t have the heart to do that. I couldn’t live with myself if I did that. You were thinking about the fate of the mission and I was too concerned about how losing you would affect me that I made an impulsive and selfish decision. So, if we’re playing the blame game then I assume full responsibility as a team leader. Do not, for one second, blame yourself.”

At the harshness of her words, James couldn’t help but feel a painful sting in his chest.

“But you know what. I don’t regret it.” She continued, and shifted her body slightly, “I don’t regret my decision to go back in to the vault after you. Because when we met, I promised I’d look after you. And then later we both promised to always stick together. And I sure as hell won’t break our vow.”

_I wouldn’t unless there was no other way and I absolutely had to… _James thought. However, he dared not say that out loud.

They went quiet for a moment. As they did, a gust of chilly wind whispered outside and drafted through the holes in the body of the totaled ship. Jessie shivered violently, curling into herself as gooseflesh rose on end. James got up from the floor and went to the trapdoor to the cargo hold. He pulled a tattered blanket from the corner and shook out some dust and sand.

Another freezing gust came in through the broken glass, and Jessie rubbed her chilly shoulders. As she was doing so she felt the warm fabric of a blanket over her.

“Thanks James…” she muttered meekly. Just then, the sound of a growling stomach filled the room.

“Uggh!” Jessie groaned, “I just got comfy and now I’m hungry!” she moved hastily to get up, ignoring the pain that pulsed in her side. A hand applied gentle pressure to her shoulder.

“Jess. I’ll go get you something, you rest.”

“Uggh. Fine.” She knew better than to argue with him when he was in “Caretaker Mode”. So instead, she watched him limp his way over to the icebox and food crate.

Her eyes narrowed, “James, you’re hurt.” She said.

“One of the falls twisted my ankle. It’s nothing.” he replied, without looking at her. However, knowing that averting his eyes would leave her unconvinced, he turned and smiled, “I’ll be fine, Jess.” Ignoring the ache shooting up his entire leg, he got down to the ground to look through what they had.

“Oh drat!” he drawled, looking into the icebox, “Since the power went out all the cold food is spoiled. I can’t make sandwiches out of warm meat, melted cheese, and wilted produce…” He sighed and moved onto the dry storage crate. Inside, he found some crackers, a third of a bag of jerky, loose-leaf tea, a loaf of bread that had already been snacked on, and a small bit of jam, “We don’t have much left, and we’re low on water.” He said, “Even if we ration it, it’ll only hold us over for a couple of days…”

“And since we don’t know where we are that could be bad news.” Jessie finished, “But still…we’ve both managed with less before, we’ll be fine.”

“Hmmm…” James trailed off, and then pulled a butter knife from the food crate. He cut a slice of bread and spread the jam over it, and then returned to Jessie.

“Here.” He said. She sat up slowly and took the sorry excuse for a meal.

“Thanks.” Jessie replied. She went to take a bite, but then stopped, “Aren’t you going to eat?”

James shook his head, “I’m not that hungry. I’m going to go have a look outside so we have an idea of where we are instead.” His stomach grumbled.

Jessie narrowed her eyes, “James.” She began sternly, “You are not going out there until you eat something. Even if its just a tiny morsel or half of a damn cracker. I may be exhausted and injured right now, but that doesn’t change the fact that I will wrestle your ass to the ground if you leave without eating. And think about the strain it would put on my poor beat-up body if I had to tackle you to the floor…”

_Dammit! _James frowned, “Jess, you are without doubt the most stubborn, boorish, conniving _brute_ of a woman I have ever met.” he groaned, “How I’ve managed to put up with you for so long is beyond me…” his voice took on a playful, litted tone, although it was underlined with a “I’m so done with your shit, Jessica Musashi” subtext.

“If I’m the brute, then you’re the whiny bitch.” she joked.

“Oh, whatever, just eat your damn bread, Jess.” James replied.

“And you get yourself some damn food too, dear~” she added, waving a dismissive hand.

“Fine.” He poked his tongue out between his teeth at her and she did the same to him with a smug smirk on her face. As he turned away from her, he couldn’t help but smile and his heart swelled with the love he had for her.

He ate only a morsel, just to satisfy her _enough_, and then went to have a look around, grabbing a flashlight. The moment he stepped out of the ship, he was met with a freezing gust of dusty air. He coughed when the particles got in his face. He shined the light. All around him were cliffs and sand dunes, in a vast desolation that stretched for miles beyond civilization. His feet sank in soft, dry sand. He turned to face the ship. It was lodged in the sand.

_The only reason we survived was because we landed in sand. _He thought with a jolt. And in that instant, it didn’t take him long at all to realize _where _in the galaxy he was: Tatooine. Blistering, dry heat by day, and freezing cold by night. A rugged, harsh desert terrain that was merciless to those who got stranded it in. He snapped a wary gaze around. Although there was nothing but desolation around him, he knew that they weren’t alone out here, and their company wasn’t the least bit friendly. He turned abruptly and went back inside the ship, followed by another strong gust of wind.

At his abrupt entrance, Jessie sat up on the sofa.

“Did you figure out where we were?” she asked.

“We’re on Tatooine, but we’re far away from civilization. That means we’re in Sand People territory. And those barbarians are aggressive.” He replied. He went back into the cargo hold and retrieved tools. “I’ll stay up and keep watch, Jess. You get some rest, you need it.”

“You sure you’re gonna be okay?”

James sighed softly, “I’m a grown man, Jess. I can handle myself.”

“Well alright then…goodnight.” 

“Goodnight.”

After bidding her pleasant dreams, he set to work using the bent-up metal beams and repurposing the wood on the food crate so he could repair the gaping hole in the back and bar up the broken windshield. He tried to work as diligently as he could, but with a banged-up body and twisted ankle it was difficult.

He wiped the sweat from his brow and stepped back to admire his crude handiwork. It was by no means pretty, but it would do the job. When he turned to check up on Jessie, he was met with the sound of silence. She was sleeping soundly with her back to him.

He drew his blaster and set it to “Stun”. And then he sat down in the middle of the floor so he could survey all sides of the ship and listen.

The night passed on without so much as a stir. All was quiet in the Judland Wastes. But his mind was all but quiet. He admitted defeat, and his head throbbed with the recent series of unfortunate events they’d been through. This time they truly had lost it all. But now it wasn't just things they'd lost, not just a ship...or money...a chance at regaining some respect... but also people. Four teammates had been ruthlessly gunned down because of Jessie and James's fail track record.

* * *

“James! James, wake up!” He groaned and lifted his head, squinting eyes meeting the bright light of day. Jessie was studying him with groggy blue eyes. He then realized he was lying with his head resting on his arms on the couch cushion by Jessie’s face.

“Oh, goodness? I fell asleep! And I was supposed to be keeping watch!” he flushed, and his heart began to thump hard and fast against the cavity of his chest.

Jessie chuckled, “It’s fine. Nothing happened.”

His shoulders sagged with relief, and in that moment, he felt the blistering heat that filled the wrecked husk of their ship. He walked over to one of the windows and wiped some dust from it. He peered out. Through the dirty window he all he could see the endless piles and piles of sand in the bright blue sky. However, off in the distance, the shadow of civilization rose in front of them.

“We aren’t as far out as I thought we were.” he said. Then, he turned to face her once more. She had moved to the cockpit and was trying to get communications up again.

“Still dead.” She said, turning to him, exasperated, “We’re gonna have to walk towards town.”

“If I had to guess, I’d say we’re in the middle of the Judland Wastes. It’ll be over a day’s walk to get to Anchorhead.” He said. Then, he gave her a once over. She was pale, and her eyes were heavy with bags and dark circles. She looked awful. But he wouldn’t dare say that aloud.

“Don’t look at me like that.” she warned, “You think I’m gonna let some bruising slow me down? Then you can think again.”

“I know you’re too stubborn…but Jess…”

“Look, we’re short on supplies and in the middle of nowhere with no communication. I might not be one hundred percent fit to travel right now, but we really don’t have a choice. We’ll sooner die of dehydration than bruises and cuts.”

“We have enough to last us the rest of the day. At the very least, we could try to get some connection.”

“You just said we won’t be able to get reception!” Jessie snapped, “So, which is it?”

“Well, we might yet be close enough to power lines. That, and several wires and whatnot got all unplugged and tangled up from the scuffle, I just have to reconnect them and hook them back up. And I’ve got a solar-powered generator in the cargo hold. It’s unlikely, but at least let me try, Jess. And you can rest. Can we compromise to that at least?”

“Fine.” Jessie huffed, and then went into the food chest to get a pathetic excuse of a breakfast.

-xXx-

James was able to get communications back up, and Jessie loathed to admit that he was right. With clammy hands and perspiring foreheads, they prepared to send their message to the boss.

His stone-faced expression was icy when he appeared on the crackly screen. He said nothing to them, but judging by his furrowed brow and deep frown, they could tell he already knew.

“Sir…” Jessie began, but then trailed off, because she could think of nothing to say.

“Well.” He said, “What have you to say for yourselves?”

“We…failed, sir.” Jessie replied, “We got caught during the smuggling, and we lost the money and all of our team members. James and I were the only ones to make it out alive…”

“Please, let me explain.” James’s voice shook when he spoke. Giovanni leaned forward slightly. James drew in a breath and told the whole story. The skepticism of their teammates. Their somehow flawless infiltration. The defective security code. His unwillingness to let Shiloh open the vault with fear she’d get caught. The alarm going off. The whole team getting slaughtered. The incident in the vault with the credits. The jungle chase. The firefight. The ship crash…

When he finished, Giovanni straightened his posture. His gaze was cold and there was not a shred of sympathy within it. Although his face remained stoic, his eyes were blazing with fury. 

“Hmm. Well it sounds to me like you could have left with one person alive _and_ my money.”

James felt the weight of a thousand tons of bricks on his shoulders. His heart lurched and the burning pang of self-loathing wormed its way up from his core. Giovanni continued speaking.

“Time and time again I have tried to give you chance after chance. And you have given me disappointment after disappointment because of your infuriating loyalty to one another and lack of fidelity to the organization which was gracious enough to employ you. You were on thin ice as it was, but this time, I’m afraid, the ice has broken through. I have always had more losses than gains with you two and the colossal loss you have given me this time is the last thread. You’ve left me no choice but to dismiss you. And not only that, but as compensation for your incompetence, you have to pay back all the credits you’ve ever gotten from me, along with all the money that was lost in the skirmish with Guzma and Team Skull.”

Jessie gasped, “Sir…that’s…over half a million credits.”

“825,000 credits to be precise. With interest for my inconvenience.” Giovanni snapped, “And since there’s two of you, you should be able to get it to me twice as fast. So, instead of giving you 12 months to get it to me, I’m giving you six. And if you don’t pay me back by the deadline, I’m sending Butch and Cassidy out after you. And they won’t bring you back to me alive.”

James’s heart began to race, and his pulse thumped in his ears. His head was spinning, his stomach churning, his eyes watering, and his breath was going ragged.

“But sir, it’ll be impossible to make that much in half a year!” Jessie protested, “Please, you must allow us a little bit more time than that!” her usual stoic voice broke.

“Fine. 9 months then. No more. No less. And that is all.” He trailed off, “Actually. There is one last thing. From this moment on, you, Jessica Musashi and you, James Kojirou, are exiled from Team Rocket and adversaries of the organization. If you ever set foot near headquarters again, I’ll give the command and you’ll be shot where you stand. The only time I want to hear anything from either of you is when you have my money. So goodbye. Useless delinquent scum.” The screen clicked off. Jessie and James were left in a painful, strained, and bitter silence. Still. Soundless. Too flabbergasted to move: their feet like lead, and their bodies stiffer than corpses in rigor mortis, with the sun beating down on their backs. Jessie’s eyes blazed, and James’s blinded with the sting of sand and salt.

Jessie wanted to cry, but more than that she wanted to scream. She wanted to tug all her hair from her scalp, destroy what was left of the ship’s ruined husk. To pummel her fists to the wall until the skin on her knuckles broke and bled. She wanted to send a bullet right through that Giovanni’s head, if not through him through something. But no matter what rage burned in her chest and her throat, the rest of her body felt numb and heavy. She could do nothing about anything now, and for once in her life, she felt absolutely helpless. She was at a bitter loss with nothing to show for and no new ideas to compensate for her failure.

She hated anything and everything in that moment. She hated Guzma, Plumeria, and Team Skull for causing her mission’s failure. She hated her mother, for dying and leaving her alone. She hated her careless father, for never being there, she hated the streets she grew up on, she hated Cassidy and Butch and Domino and Annie and Oakley. She hated Giovanni, and the Rocket Gang. She hated this useless hunk of junk she was trapped in. She hated this barren planet. She hated the Republic, and the Galaxy. But from the bottom of her cold heart, there was nothing or no one she hated more in that moment than herself. This feeling of utter defeat and painful failure reduced her to nothing but a shocked mess and a bruised and battered body._ Vulnerability. _That was the word. The cursed, disgusting word that tasted like poison on her tongue. _Weakness. Incompetency. _ About as far from being a woman that she could get. And no word could be used to accurately describe what she was feeling right now.

But it was in that moment when she heard the thump on the floor as his knees buckled underneath him, and the violent, and loud cry of “This is all my _FAULT!” _ she was brought back to reality. 

When she turned to see him, he was on the ground beside her. His body was curled toward the floor, his knuckles were white from his nails digging into his palms, his face, although partially hidden by periwinkle hair, was an angry red. His entire body trembled with wracking, noisy sobs, which he choked out through gasping breaths. 

Ignoring the screaming of her sides when she threw herself towards him, she pulled him into her arms and curled her fingers tightly into the fabric of his shirt, clinging onto him with the desperation of a touch-starved lover. And she said:

“We…” but then she cut off abruptly and forced the words back down her throat like burning bile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew! This chapter was jam-packed with a lot of heavy emotions. But that's not even the half of it. There's gonna be lots of angst to come! Another thing is, I anticipate the story being between three to four acts or parts, whatever you want to call it. We're coming upon the end of Act 1 pretty soon here. 
> 
> Until next week, stay tuned. Bye, dear readers!


	7. 1-7: Marooned

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TRIGGER WARNING: Includes brief suicidal thoughts.

(7)

MAROONED

For two days they did nothing but lie around the wreckage of their reveries. They rationed their food and their water. Jessie would have drunk herself to oblivion if James hadn’t insisted that they keep the booze as an antiseptic in case one of them got hurt. And, although it pained him greatly to present his lack of trust, he hid the alcohol to protect it from Jessie’s stubborn impulsivities. With such strict rations, their dried throats, cracked lips, and half-empty stomachs accompanied by heavy fatigue became a normal feeling to them.

For hours, they did nothing except lay in poor quality shade or sweat their asses off inside their ship. Sometimes Jess would polish her blasters or sharpen her knives, or James would go for aimless walks with blistering sun beating upon his back. His peeling scalp and sunburnt face were a familiar sight to Jessie for those long 48 hours. But he was never out for long. His fear kept him close. His fear that she would leave and go out, high on her ambitions and forget her beaten and fatigued body would send him into heart-pounding panic. His fear that she’d be taken by the Tusken Raiders and be tortured a countless number of horrible ways, or that she’d collapse, and he’d find her corpse half-buried in the sand, kept him up for countless hours. No shred of sleep dare come to him, and it hadn’t in awhile. He didn’t doubt she could defend herself, but she was injured both in body and in mind, and it had taken a toll on her. But worrying proved pointless. Each time he’d return, he’d find her in the same state: lying half-dressed and clammy inside, or half-dressed and polishing weapons outside in the shade they had built from scrap metal and that ratty blanket. Each time he’d return in his state of obvious distress, she’d study him with her dull, blue eyes, wearing a defeated or sometimes unreadable gaze. She was probably judging him, probably thought him ridiculous. But her expression of nihilism, as there could be no better word, was so uncharacteristic he barely recognized her.

But when he’d return to see her caring for the weapons so meticulously, sometimes there was a spark of hope in him. If she was spending so much time on this maintenance, surely, she had to have been planning something or preparing for something. Right? But then it circled back around to, “or maybe she just did it because there was nothing else to do” and then he’d perceive her: bruised and tired, with her posture pressed down by the weight of her burdens, her hair unkempt and her eyes dull. Then the spark would go out as quick as it appeared.

The bitterness of failure and sharp pang of his remorse affected him too. His guilt was all around him, in the vast desolation, the totaled ship and the uncanny quiet. The nothingness. He didn’t care what Jessie said or didn’t say, he was the reason they’d ended up like this. When she got angry or upset with past failures, she’d blame him, get over it, and it was fine. But what made this the worst was that this time she _hadn’t_ blamed him, even though she knew it was his fault. He had always been the burden of their team, and this drastic failure reaffirmed that case. _She’d be better without me. _He often thought.

But it was hard to think that way as he sat before her and tended her injuries as he was presently doing. He stepped back to study his work again. At last she spoke to him.

“What time is it?” she asked.

“I don’t know. I’ve lost all perception of time.”

“The clock says four…” Jessie groaned, “Only four…” She’d been up for at least thirty-six hours, thoughtless and numb.

“That clock has been wrong for years, Jess.”

She moved to sit up abruptly, hissing.

“Be careful. Your ribs.” James cautioned. She sunk back down into her makeshift bed. There was silence as he sat on one lopsided end.

But then she started speaking, “Usually I’ve got some crazy idea to get us back on track…but I’ve got nothing. I’m too tired. My mind is blank and my body is just…numb…” she trailed off.

_“She’s lost her ambition.”_ James thought, _“There’s nothing worse than that.”_

He felt a pain he couldn’t describe. Like an ache…but also like a sting of burning blades in his heart of glass. His heart of glass and hers of carven stone. There was a rustle of fabric and a sweaty head found James’s empty lap. She was looking up at him with tired eyes.

“Why even try?” she said, “This task is IMPOSSIBLE. I’m not one to give up easily. Or give up at all. Even if the task seems almost impossible. But this? _That _much money is less than a year? That’s just plain _impossible_. And worse than that, because it’s impossible we’ll be inevitably killed by Butch and Cassidy. To think I should die at the hands of my own co-worker, by her own hand. I _hate_ her! Always mocking me, one-upping me, and apparently now destined to shoot me! There’s not a worse way to be fired…to be clearly declared, point blank, unwanted…”

* * *

_Coruscant was only pretty on its upper levels, not slums like this. _

_The pre-teen burst out of the shop and sped down the narrow, crowded streets with a loaf of bread clutched tightly to her chest. Her stringy, magenta hair fell out of its messy ponytail in strands as she ran with the worn head-scarf wrapped tightly round her head to block out the chilling cold The baker cursed after her, brandishing a rolling pin as he followed her out the dinky shop at the end of the street._

_"That's my bread, dammit! Come back here, street rat! Ye little bitch!" The baker yelled._

_Adrenaline and fear rushed through the girl’s veins as she ran down the winding streets. She dodged, ducked, pushed and shoved as she made her way. _

_She wove her way through the dirty, winding streets, leaping and veering, ignoring the curses and insults spat at her. _

_"Stop that damn brat! She stole me bread!" The baker called. Though no one really seemed to listen. They were too drunk and distracted by the daily festivities that they paid no mind. A couple of less drunken townspeople tried to intercept her, but their hand-eye coordination was poor, and she could easily dodge them. _

_The scenery flew passed her. Her stomach churned loudly with hunger, but she ignored it, trying to get as far away from the baker as possible._

_The longer she ran, the more she felt her body getting winded, and the more it started to ache and drag in protest due to the exertion the retreat was causing._

_She glanced behind her. The small, plump, red-faced baker was lagging. So, he stopped for a brief moment to catch his breath._

_"Stay where ye are, brat!" The baker demanded._

_Jessie froze and glanced over her shoulder. The baker was turning corner and gaining on her. She snapped her gaze around, looking for the quickest escape route, or hiding place even-but preferably an escape. She made a dash for the nearby alleyway, turning around the corner. She crouched behind the reeking dumpsters, just as the baker thundered passed her. _

_Her chest heaved and she caught her breath, gasping for air. Her throat burned from the cold. Once she could breathe again, she pulled the bread from the shelter of her chest. It had been squished, but it would be just as good. _

_A low, nasally yowl filled her ears. She stiffened. And all around her, a hoard of scraggly alley loth cats started appearing from the shadows, stalking towards her with a predatorial fashion. The big one in front bared its teeth, unsheathed its claw. She scrambled up and hugged the bread to her. _

_“No!” she yelled, “Go away, you beasts! Get your own, this is mine!” She picked up a nearby bottle and threw it at them, the glass making contact with the leader. She continued to kick bottles and cans towards them. She pressed her body further into the walls as the creatures closed in on her. Another bottle collided with the head cat. It produced something of a low growl and pounced towards her. _

_She screamed and tried to dodge the blow, but it sent her in the midst of their hoard and they surrounded her. They hissed, and clawed at her, tearing her already worn clothes, and leaving stinging cuts on her flesh. She curled into herself, protecting her head, and squishing the bread further into her chest as she fell to their mercy, with their claws leaving red, irritated scratches. _

_Then a bottle flew into the scene from the opposite side of the alleyway, closer to the street, breaking in the midst of the loth cat hoard. _

_“That’s enough!” barked a voice. The sound was followed by breaking of bottles. “GET OUTTA HERE!” _The loth cats scattered. _A low chuckle escaped the newcomer’s mouth. _Three teenaged boys entered her field of vision. The lead stepped towards her, and she glared defiantly. She wasn’t bleeding out, but she was in pain and too exhausted and cold to get up. She tried to, but a heavy boot pressed into her chest and a ragged gasp elicited from her mouth. He bent down and smiled wickedly at her, and effortlessly plucked the bread from her hand.

_“Thanks for doing our work for us.” He sneered. She glared, blue eyes icy. He nodded to his comrades, “She’s all yours.” He said. The two behind him loomed over her, and staggered towards her, visually intoxicated and on something. They closed in. _

_When they’d gone, she was left for dead, mugged, and violated. She was barely eleven years old. _

_She was prepared to die that night. But a man and a woman in dark suits picked her up instead. She learned later that their names were Giovanni and Celestina. _

* * *

“I guess I’ll always be a slutty little street rat…” She finished.

“Jessie, how can you say that!?” James was appalled, “You’re so much more than that you—”

She put out a hand, “Don’t _even _start with this sentimental garbage, James. I’m not in the mood to cover such a heavy topic. Team Rocket is everything to me. It defined me. It molded me. It gave me a purpose and helped me find who I was. It gave me a reason. And then betrayed me. Kicked me back into the streets of insignificance. Right back where I started. I guess nowhere is where I’ve always belonged. I’m nothing.”

“That’s not true, Jess!” James exclaimed, “You’re everything to me! I love you more than anyone or anything else in this bloody Galaxy! We promised we’d stick together, that we’d_ be_ something together. Just because we’ve failed horribly this time it doesn’t mean we just give up! That isn’t our style, Jess. No matter how impossible to situation is, we’re always going to try.”

“We’re out in the middle of nowhere, exhausted, dehydrated and half-starved, injured, useless, and unemployed. What_ exactly_ can we do except for wallowing and nothing?” Jessie demanded, “You mope and whine all the time and now you’re getting onto_ me _about it? Kind of hypocritical of you, don’t you think?”

“Well…sure! I wallow, but I always manage to pull myself out of it and get back on my feet…with your help! I’m trying to return the favor!”

“Then you can return the favor by taking your blaster and shooting me with it.” She said. 

“Wha---”

“Actually. That’s a brilliant idea.” She looked him dead in the eye, “James,” she said, “Let’s kill ourselves. That’d be way easier than starving to death in this desert or worse, being killed by Butch and Cassidy.” She was almost cheerful about this, and James’s glass heart half shattered. It seemed the deep cracks in the stone of hers had done substantial damage to her and the guilt churned and knotted in his stomach so tightly he forced down the burn in his throat of wanting to hurl.

“Jessie…” he trailed off, remembering the loaded gun in his belt. All it took was one shot for each of them. Laser through the brain, and then this suffering could end…

His dry throat burned, his eyes stung. Whether with sand or tears, he didn’t know the difference. The blaster seemed so friendly right now…for a moment, he stared at it, ran his hand across the metal body. He went to grasp it, to pull it…but then stiffened.

“No.” he said.

“What do you mean, “no”!”

“I said “No!”” he cried, “Why would you suggest something so…so…hypocritical! I’ve been there, where you are right now. Just wanting to end it. But each time you talked me out of it!” his voice began to rise in volume, he dug his fingers into his palms, “…You kicked my ass or yelled at me_ whenever_ I talked like that! Then you’d pull me into your arms and tell me how important I was. That I mattered and you’d hate me forever if I left you! So now I’m returning the favor and I’m not going to shoot you. A promise is a promise. We’re still alive, Jess, that means not all hope is lost! We have working limbs! We can still find a way to manage somehow…” he said, “You’d never let me go like that and neither will I. And you haven’t lost all of Team Rocket. You have ME.”

“We’ve both been fired that hardly makes us Team Rocket!”

“Whether we have the title attached to our name or not, in our hearts we always will be. We still have our uniforms and…” he lost his train of thought, “…It’s a days’ walk to Anchorhead. There’s a town there…we…” again his words faltered, his exhaustion over took him. Whether he was getting anywhere with her or not he didn’t know.

“Whatever.” She said, “I don’t even have the energy to pull a gun on myself now. I’m taking a nap, because there’s nothing else to do and I’m aching all over.” She turned her back to him, so he was met with a view of a rippling back and dirty magenta hair in a messy updo with wayward strands. 

It was dark and cold out when she opened her eyes again. Even though she still felt disgusting and achy, and even hungrier and thirstier than she had been when she’d fallen asleep, she was less numb, her body less sore. She wasn’t cold. James had shaken out and brought the dusty blanket inside. He’d covered her with it. Her feet touched the icy metal floor. Freezing air had her gooseflesh up on end, chilling her bare shoulders and naked neck. She put on her shirt and buckled her belt over her skivvies. She stepped slowly, again awake to the sensation of throbbing, bruised ribs. She nearly stepped on the heap that was James, stumbling over him in the dark.

She looked down at the floor. He was curled into a pitiful ball, a sorry shield from the cold. A shiver or two sent a tremor through his body. But he was asleep at last. He hadn’t slept since the night of crash.

_Good. _she thought. The cold had made her feel slightly better…or perhaps had numbed her from the pain of the wreckage of her reveries. Regardless, she still felt better. She was thoughtless. Giovanni? Who was that? Responsibilities? What were those? Money? It wasn’t an object.

She seized the blaster under James’s hand, switched it from stun and put it in her belt. She covered him with her still-warm blanket. Blue eyes stared into doe eyes a prettier green than her favorite earrings—at least they would have if he wasn’t asleep.

A hand lingered over his hair, before fingers ghosted coarse, unwashed locks. Tangible to her, but not to him, who appeared to be sound asleep as solid stone.

Her stomach churned, and her throat burned from dryness. She went over to the foodstuffs. She ate. She put on her boots and grabbed the torch hanging on the wall. She clicked it on and stepped outside. She was met with a refreshing blast of freezing wind.

She sighed and looked up at dark sky. But she saw no stars tonight. They were covered by thick black clouds, a void of nothingness, waiting to swallow her up. She stepped forward, and she raised her arms to the wind. She sighed, letting the cold embrace her and numb her body. Numbing anything and everything in silence. The soreness, the pain, the anger, leaving a thoughtless tranquility in its wake that made her feel the best she had in hours. James was asleep. He wasn’t there to fret and fuss over her. She didn’t have a cacophony of thoughts plaguing her mind. It was blank. She couldn’t feel the pain of her injuries over the cold.

Thunder rumbled above her. And suddenly the sky began crying for her, pelting down rain in crocodile-sized gulps. It started slowly at first, but then began to fall faster and faster, crying harder. Until it was grossly weeping. It pelted the sands and pattered the husk of the ship. The sound filled the noiseless desolation with a rhythmic musicality. And it wept, and it wept, and it wept. She stepped further out and started to gasp with the beginnings of breathy laughter mixed with burning tears that didn’t evaporate to dust when they meandered down her freckled, dirty cheeks. It soaked her to the skin. She cried with it and it cried with her. At least if the sky was sobbing so, no one would notice she was weeping too. Her tears mixed with the rainwater. She let her hair down.

Then, she stood, with her nails digging into her skin, and she cried and she cried and she cried.

“Jessie, what are you doing? You’ll catch a cold with the weather like this out here dressed like _that_!” She turned slightly to look at James. He stood behind her, peaking out of the entryway. She’d shed her shirt and belt again, casted under the shelter of a broken wing to keep dry.

_So, he’d woken up after all. _

“_Ahhh ha ha haaa!_ It’s wonderful, James!” she replied, spinning about, voice still breaking from her sobs, “Come out here, feel how wonderful it is!” She felt so refreshed she didn’t bother hiding her tears.

“Jessie, you’re crying.” He said.

“Yeah so!? Come on! It’s the best shower we’re going to get, may as well enjoy it while it lasts!” With the cheerfulness returning to her voice, a smile cracked on James’s chapped lips. Everything but his briefs were cast into a pile, and he joined Jessie outside in the rain.

* * *

And they let the rain wash away all the pain of yesterday.


	8. 1-8: The Sands of Time Wait for No One

(8)

THE SANDS OF TIME WAIT FOR NO ONE

It was early in the morning. Dawn was just beginning to bleed over the sandy horizon, so there was still a bit of a chill in the air. The precipitation leftover from yesterday added to the uncharacteristic cool of the new day. But it wouldn’t stay that long, James knew, for the moment the sun was fully up, its scorching rays would dry the land completely of any moisture or inkling of coolness.

Jessie was pacing, restless and impatient. For today was the day they went to set off towards Anchorhead, which was the closest civilization to them out here in the wastes.

“How’s it coming, James? Have you finished yet?”

“Just about.” He replied, looking up at her with a dull, pale-faced gaze. He was in the process of shoving everything he could into a knapsack. 

“You alright, tiger?” she asked him, studying his face with concern.

He ignored his throbbing headache, light-headedness, and heavy-weighted fatigue, “Yeah,” he breathed, “Just tired is all.” Although exhausted was the better word choice here.

“You can have my share for breakfast this morning.” She said, “I know you’ve barely slept or eaten the past few days, since you’ve been taking care of me.”

“No, Jess, please. It’s really not necessary.”

She waved a dismissive hand, “Ahh just do it, dear. I’ll sooner be eaten alive by guilt than starve to death.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I snuck an extra bit of food last night.” She confessed.

“You what!? Jess, we meticulously rationed it so we wouldn’t run out!” James replied, exasperated. He huffed, “I suppose old habits die hard, as they say.”

She shrugged, “Well, seeing as we’ll be reaching Anchorhead by tomorrow, at the latest, I didn’t think having a little extra would hurt that much.”

“We’re running low on credits, there’s no telling how much more food we’ll actually be able to afford.” James continued to scold.

“What! You can’t get mad at me, _dear._ I’ve kept to my rations for two days, I was a good girl for once, see. And I, quite frankly, can’t stand it any longer!” She raised her voice slightly. A ghost of smile split James’s chapped lips.

_This woman…_

“The look! James! You’re giving me the look!” He shook his head.

“I’m just…glad to see you back to your usual spunk.” he defended himself. For it seemed that the rain had washed away whatever wave of nihilism had passed over her, and she was ready to go once more.

“Once we get into town,” she said, “We’ll find work, as much of it as we can. Maybe we’ll even be able to barter passage back to Rishi.”

“Why in the Galaxy would you want to go back there!?” James yelped, thinking about how badly Team Skull would make them rue the rest of their days if they caught them on their turf.

She shoved her hands to her hips and tossed her hair, “It’s a smuggler and pirate haven. It’d be so easy for low-lives like us to find work. I’d sooner find work there than work for Jabba the Hutt, which, mind you, is going to be the bulk of the work we’ll find in this wasteland.” 

“That’s true, yes, but if Team Skull finds us, we’ll be pulverized. That erratic leader of theirs will probably want to avenge his eye by gouging out one or both pairs of ours.”

“Oh, hell no! These beautiful baby blues won’t be touched by the hands of such a wretch.” She scoffed, “Whatever. Beggars can’t be choosers, I suppose. Let’s go.”

James zipped up his bag and shoved the heavy thing onto his back. It pressed heavily down on his shoulders and made him feel worse than he already did. He stepped forward. As he did, his vision suddenly shifted in and out, and he had a hot flash. His legs trembled like gelatin, and he stumbled, only to be caught in Jessie’s arms.

She steadied him, “Are you okay?”

He nodded, “Tripped.” He lied, “And I was kind of shocked by the weight of this bag to be honest.” She nodded. Then, she turned and stepped out into the early morning canvas of yellow sand and pink, orange, and red-hued skies. He followed her, using the wall for balance as he slipped the last of knives into their holsters. He ignored his dry throat and throbbing head, determined not to let things so trivial get the best of him. He stood in the opening, just behind Jessie, and peered briefly over his shoulder.

A wave of sadness washed over him as he surveyed the wreckage once more. He examined the darkroom, the untidied, silent mess. He stared at the bent beams, dented hulls, and falling wood. He gazed at the couch, the fridge, and the carvings they’d put in the body with their own hands. Here was the wreckage of nearly a decade of fond memories the two of them had made together. His chest felt heavy, aching with a longing of the past when they were doing just fine…

“James, come on. We’re wasting time.” Jessie’s voice pulled him back from his reminiscing. He stopped and turned back around to face her. Her blue eyes were studying him, and her hand rested on a tender hip. She had layered up again, wrapped in the protection of a thin cloak and dirty armor, mirroring his own attire. 

“Right.” He nodded briskly and then stepped out into the morning. He didn’t look back as they started their long, and soon-to-be brutal trek through a living hell. And together, they left the wreckage of reveries, abandoned and forgotten in the sands of time.

The blistering sun was merciless already. They walked hunched and sluggishly, the rays beating down onto their backs and burning through their clothes.

Jessie's throat burned and stiffened, all the moisture had evaporated and been replaced with a feeling of rough grains of sand scraping the inside walls.

Her mouth was so dry she wasn't even salivating, as one often does when they are parched.

Her sides were throbbing and sweat dripped disgustingly from her face and through her clothes. Its ability to cool her down was feeble. The sun burned her scalp and hair, which she had pulled into a damp and clumsy bun.

Her head throbbed from the heat, and her legs threatened to give out beneath her.

They were much slower than they should have been, ankle-deep in hot yellow sand. In fact, the rough terrain had slowed them profusely.

Jessie glanced behind her. James was lagging, his expression pained, face red and slick from sweat, and strands of periwinkle hair plastered against his face, lumbering on, pulled down by the weight of the heavy backpack carrying their few belongings. There were no words exchanged between them because talking took energy and all of their energy needed to be reserved for the hike through the blistering wastes of Tatooine.

“James, I told you once, and I’ll say it again,” said a testy Jessie, “I can take a turn and carry that luggage.”

He looked up through a pained gaze and shook his head, “I can’t have you do that with your ribs, Jessie. Walking already puts a strain on them.”

“Fine. Let’s stop for a break then. Since we’re in the middle of a barren wasteland, we’ll eat right here.”

By the time they finished their sorry excuse for a meal, they were on the last of their water.

They had barely rested when Jessie’s restlessness urged them up again, and they set off once more through the unforgiving sands.

* * *

It was late afternoon, and they felt they hadn’t made scarcely any progress at all. They still had a massive stretch of land to reach, but they at least seemed to be within the Great Salt Flat. By this point, they had been walking all day, and the heat was beginning to get the best of them.

Jessie’s legs were burning. Every fiber in James’s body screamed for mercy. The rigorous trod through uneven and unstable land was pulling them down. Sand had long since seeped into the bottoms of their worn boots, and moist from sweat provided a scratchy environment that was tearing and scraping the skin raw around their feet and ankles, which had long since been blistered. It felt like they were walking with torn bags of sand strapped tightly to their legs, with the excess seeping into the bottom of their shoes and acting as uncomfortable weights.

They were drenched in sweat and covered in sand, and their old injuries and sore muscles from their crashes three days ago were inflamed and irritated, amplified by the scorching heat and exhausting trod.

James’s head was spinning. If he stopped to take a rest or catch his breath, the weight of the heavy belongings would cause his body to sway from side to side and his vision would blur in and out like a camera lens struggling to find its focus. So, he pressed on, breathing heavily with a raspy throat and burning lungs. He felt sick, and his stomach tightened and growled and churned. The nutrients they had had hours ago was feeble. They’d finished their jerky this morning. The effects of that protein and worn off. He lagged heavily behind Jessie, whose posture and pace had been greatly slackened from fatigue.

Finally, she stopped and bent forward, hands on her dusty knees, gasping for breath. She blinked sand from her clumpy eyelashes, passing a dry tongue over equally dry lips. She peered in front of her, and a shape swirled and rippled, appearing in front of tired, burning eyes. Her face lit up.

“James! Look!” her voice was hoarse and ragged, “There’s an oasis, right there—and a town…a town and an oasis. Aha! We’re saved…” James forced himself to move slowly forward, fighting his pounding headache, screaming muscles, and blurry vision. He followed her eyes. She was right.

“We made it…” he said breathily. He took a shaky step forward. And in that moment his legs gave out and the world went black.

James’s body thumped harshly against the sandy ground, falling heavily like deadweight. Jessie’s heart lurched, and she began to panic.

“James!? JAMES!” she ran forward, falling to his side. She yanked the heavy backpack off him. She pulled him towards her and began to violently shake his shoulders.

“James, come on…come on please!” her raspy voice cracked with labored panic. 

He groaned. Her voice echoed in and out, but he knew she was crying out to him, urging him to stay alive…to wake up.

Finally, he opened his dull eyes to meet the dirty, sunburnt face with a piercing blue gaze and smeared makeup. 

“I told you to let me carry the backpack, you dumbass…” she breathed, pulling him into her for a sweaty, disgusting, but much needed embrace. They were sitting up now, with the sun beating down against cracked earth. For they were no longer in the sand. 

“Come on,” she urged, “We’re almost to the oasis…it’s just up…” When she looked where she was pointing, she realized she was pointing at nothing but more barren land. Her relief was replaced with exasperated anger.

“It was a _F**KING _mirage!? Are you _KIDDING_ me!?” she huffed, “Of course it was…God damn it all…” She dug her dirty nails into her clammy palms. She screwed her eyes together and shook her head. Then, she pulled her water canteen out of their backpack. She shoved the container towards James.

“Drink this.” She said ordered.

“But there’s hardly any left, what about—”

“Never mind about me! Think about yourself one moment in your damn life!” she snapped. James winced.

Jessie sighed, “I’m sorry…I didn’t mean to_...uggh_!” She trailed off and shifted slightly, “Look, I’m tough. I’ll be fine. And _I _wasn’t the one who just passed out. Please, I’m begging you.” she thrust the container towards him once more, “Drink the rest of this. We’re at the pass…so we should reach Anchorhead by dark. Isn’t that right?”

“Yeah, I think so…”

She rummaged through the bag and pulled out the last of their provisions, “And you can finish the food too.”

He did what she said without another protest. He knew better than to _not_ listen to her.

-xXx-

After they had sat for a few moments, Jessie stood up and grabbed the backpack, which had been greatly lightened, and swung it over her shoulders.

“Can you stand?”

“Yes, I think so.” James replied. She offered him a hand.

“Up you get, then. We’re almost there.” He shakily stood up. She looped his arm around her shoulders. She took his wrist in her right hand and her left hand found his waist. She wasn’t going to let him collapse on her watch again.

When his weight touched hers, she winced slightly as the throbbing pain rippled across her ribs. He saw her wince and their eyes met.

She shook her head and smiled through her pain, “I’ll be okay. Let’s just keep going.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There really isn't much to say about this chapter. It's probably one of my favorites. Like, I've seen myself grow as a writer over the past few years, and this has got to be one of my best works as of 2019. In other words, I'm quite proud of this chapter. 
> 
> We're nearing the end of Act 1. There's three chapters left of it. Next chapter is pretty intense, I'm not gonna lie, but also in the next chapter, you'll discover that cats can be saints. *wink, wink, nudge, nudge*


	9. 1-9: The Saintly Savior is a Cat

(9)

THE SAINTLY SAVIOR IS A CAT

Persia insisted that they did their evening rounds. That meant venturing from their quaint house in the Great Salt flat and seeing if anyone had been stranded. Persia always had that sort of way about her. She’d die with guilt if she didn’t go looking. And Meowth? Well, couldn’t _really _disagree with her. He was only but a humble, talking loth cat, after all, and as plain as the blue sky and twin suns of Tatooine. Persia was the boss around here, and whatever she said, it went. So, if she wanted to risk her life every evening to go out looking to rescue others, then she would get her way. 

He couldn’t blame her for wanting to be a do-gooder he supposed, although he considered himself a feline of gray morals.

So, after dinner, before dark, armed with their heavy pack of first aid, water, and protein-bread that was an original creation of hers, they wrapped themselves in their robes and goggles and got on their speeder. Persia was sure to grab her weapon as well- her staff, her blaster, her dagger, just in case they ran into those barbaric Tusken Raiders.

“Keep a sharp eye, Meowth.” she said to him, “Those pretty blue eyes of yours aren’t for nothing, you know.” A hand ruffled the fur on his head and a purr rumbled from the depths of his throat.

“Don’t worry, Persia.” He answered, “I’ll let yous know if I see anything.” 

“That’s my good kitty.” The woman praised, petting him on the head. Her dark eyes sparkled on her tan face as she smiled at him.

And with that, they took off towards the wastes, with the hot wind from the drafts billowing the fabric they were clothed in.

* * *

Jessie’s legs gave way beneath her, and both she and James thumped to the ground. Their chest’s heaved, and they felt like they were being pushed into the sand with a ton of bricks stacked on top of them.

Their throats burned. Their eyes burned. Sand caked every inch of their body. Their old wounds throbbed, and beneath their wraps, some pulsed. Their feet and legs were raw and cut up. The dryness from the air had cracked the skin on their lips and knuckles, so they stung and bled. They reeked of sweat, drenched in the sour smell from their heads to their toes. Their faces were red, peeling, and dusty, with the skin in some areas just as raw as it was on their lips and hands.

They rolled onto their sides and let the sun beat down on their fabrics, worsening the burns that it had already created. Dull eyes met with one another, before Jessie rolled and moved, clawing her way to a shaky standing position.

But it only took a few staggering steps forward before she collapsed again. Once more she tried to clamor up, grunting with determination.

“Almost…there…we have to…”

She crumbled forward again. Her body had reached its limit: Heavy and refusing to move. But she would force it to move, no matter how horribly her injuries screamed and burned.

She continued her pitiful attempt, and James watched her, with his heart racing. Yes, his senses may have been extremely dulled, but not that excluded the one that cared for Jessie.

“Jessie…stop this…please…” His voice was so weak he barely heard it.

She ignored him. “Aggh! Uhh! Dammit!” she cried through her clenched teeth, as she continued to try. But her body refused to let her. So, she resulted in clawing and crawling forward instead.

“Jessie, that’s ENOUGH!” his desperate cry was forced through a raspy throat and painful emotion. She was crouching with a shaking fist in the ground.

“We tried the best we could…but now we have to admit defeat.” There were tears when he spoke to her, dirty tears trying to wash the sand from his burning his gaze, but also no doubt reflective of the pain and exhaustion he was feeling.

She forced the stinging behind her misty eyes away. “No! No, I will NOT! J-just a few hours ago you told me _NOT_ to give up! But now you’re telling me_ TO _give up!? You’re contradicting yourself!” she screamed with a ragged rasp in her tone, “We CAN’T! We just can’t! We don’t…I won’t…I’m telling you I won’t! I have to…” she forced her hands again and lifted her upper body, in yet another attempt to pull herself off the ground. Her body continued to shake.

“Jessie, STOP! You’re going to kill yourself! Your body is telling you it's over! You’ve got to cut this out!”

“That’s easy for you to say! You’re ALWAYS first to admit defeat! But I will never! Ever!” Again, she tried and failed.

And James couldn’t take it anymore. With a shaky hand, he reached into his belt and pulled out an old friend. He double-checked the blaster. He set it back to the way he wanted it. He pulled it out and raised a shaking hand. He focused a blurry, burning, teary gaze. With a shaky aim, he fired, screwing his eyes together.

The sound of the laser ripped through the silent, sticky air. Jessie’s breath caught in her throat and she froze. She turned to look over her shoulder to see James’s green eyes burning into her, the pain twisted in his face.

Through her quickly blurring gaze she saw the phrase, “Because I love you…” Flutter from his lips. And then she collapsed, the darkness closing in around her.

As he watched her fall, he pretended not to see the pain in her eyes. Even though he had stunned her, he doubted she’d ever wake up from that. So at least she’d go gently into that goodnight. And he would protect her until he drew his own last ragged breath, and the scavengers came to eat the flesh off his bones. So, he clawed and crawled towards her, dragging his heavy, dead weight behind him. He let himself collapse over her, using his own body to shield hers. He fell over the top of her and rested his face in the crook of her sweaty neck. He sighed. And closed his eyes. It was beginning to cool down. _“We’ll be dead by morning…” _He had never had a more welcoming thought than that.

Meowth and Persia were on their way back when the heard the gunshot. They both stiffened. Meowth’s ears twitched.

“It came from that way!” he said, pointing with his tail. Persia whipped a sharp u-turn and headed back from whence she’d come. After a little way, she veered right.

While she was driving, Meowth kept all his senses sharp. His nose, he kept raised to sniff the air. His eyes scanned the horizon. His ears twitched to survey his surroundings.

He smelled blood and sweat and tears. “Almost there, keep goin!”

Blue eyes then found the seemingly lifeless heaps. Well, one, was lifeless, the other was dragging itself towards the former. They looked like human silhouettes. They passed from his field of vision.

“Back there, Persia! Ya passed ‘em!” again he pointed. She veered a sharp left and nearly threw him from her back. A cloud of dust puffed up behind like smoke as they flew back towards their newfound rescues. And then Persia came to a sharp halt.

She put the speeder in park and got down to the ground, using a walking stick for her permanent limp.

“Oh, dear me!” she said, “It’s a man and a woman!” She got down to their level and examined them. She knew they were in awful condition the moment she laid eyes on them. The man was lying atop the woman, his arms around her head in effort to protect her. The way his chest violently heaved and his raspy dry breathing filled the air put Persia over the edge with deep concern. The woman remained unresponsive, and because of the position they were in it was impossible to check her vitals. So, she called to him.

“My dear boy, I’m here to help you. It will be alright.”

He groaned and shifted slightly, slowly lifting his head and blinking eyes that were the most gorgeous shade of green.

When he saw her he shook his head, “No…it can’t be…it’s another hallucination…” he rasped.

Persia’s warm hand found his shoulder, “The Desert ‘as messed with yer head.” She told him, “I assure you, I’m as real as _it _is. Please, allow me to take you and your friend back to my house. I can help you.” He studied her for a moment with a bleary gaze, but with an exasperated sigh, his head thumped right back where it had been.

She closed her eyes and focused her strength on the two young people that needed her help. With mature and experienced determination, she was able to lift them off the ground and into the back of her speeder. Once they had settled, James was sitting up, leaning heavily against the back with Jessie’s limp form upon his shoulder and his protective arm around her.

“My loth cat is going to take care of you on the way home.” She said, “Do not be alarmed by him.” Through his cloudy gaze, James studied the loth cat.

It was average-sized. Its fur took on a cream colored, yellowish tint, with velvety black ear tips. Its large blue eyes studied him, and a brown-tipped tail twitched back and forth. It stood on its back, brown-tipped feet and walked effortlessly over to a bag on the ground beside them. It rummaged through it and pulled out a canteen. Then, it swaggered back over and handed it to him, thrusting it towards him. James took it desperately and chugged down a large swig.

“I see you were da gentleman ta shoot the lady.” the loth cat said. James stiffened, eyes going wide.

“Yeah. I can talk. Old news.” He waved a paw nonchalantly, “Don’t let yerself be too alarmed. The two a’ yas are in bad shape as it is. I’m Meowth, she’s Persia, now let’s get back to takin’ care a ya.” He said.

The engine of the speeder started up again and Persia took off towards home.

“Can yer lady wake up?” Mewoth asked.

“I…stunned her with my blaster…” James rasped, averting his gaze in shame.

“Well, ya betta wake’ er so she can have some water.” 

So, James began to poke and prod at her, “Jess,” he called, “Jess, come on! Wake up! We’re safe now, see! Wake up so you can have some water…”

His only response was a sleepy groan. Meowth had other ideas. He grabbed another canteen of water and splashed her with its contents.

She jumped, gasping, and blinked her eyes open. The first thing she saw was a loth cat that was too close for comfort. Her heart began to pound rapidly, and she moved to scrambled away. But a squeeze to her side made her aware of James’s presence.

“It’s okay Jess, this is Meowth. He and his partner found us. We’re going to be okay.”

She relaxed. James handed her the fresh canteen of water, “Here.” She reached forward with a shaky hand and took it. She gulped down a ravenous drink, draining the container.

Once she’d put it down, Meowth immediately gave them another it.

“We got plenty of watta.” He said, “Ya best be drinkin’ it ‘tils we get back to the house.”

“It…talks!?” Jessie rasped, a sorry attempt at raising her disbelieved voice.

“Yes,_ he _does.” James answered, “We’re in a galaxy far, far away. Anything can happen.”

“You think you can sway me with a joke?” she snapped, “I’m still gonna kick your ass for shooting me.”

A small smile cracked on James’s chapped lips. He gave Jessies a gentle squeeze to her shoulder.

“Save yer lovers’ quarrel fer layta.” Meowth said, “Right now, you’s gotta focus on hyrdatin’.”

“She’s not my…” James trailed off and sighed. While he would normally retort that immediately, he just let it be for the moment. Instead, he rubbed her shoulder and they continued to pass the canteen back and forth.

Then he said, “You’ll be okay, Jess. I’m watching over you, now.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: There’s Meowth at long last! And Ahh! Dearie me, dearie me! The parallels, the full circle from Jessie saying the same thing to James a decade ago when they met and now he’s saying it to her! I love it so much!
> 
> A note on Persia: Briefly inspired off the Persian that found Meowth and raised him when he was a kitten in the slums of Hollywood, in "Go West, Young Meowth", an old episode from "Indigo League".


	10. 1-10: What You Need is a Good Rest, Good Riddance

(10)

WHAT YOU NEED IS A GOOD REST, GOOD RIDDANCE

It was dark and cold again when at long last Persia drove the speeder up to the quaint little hut with small moisture farm out front. It was an old house, yet it had stood strong against the brutal extremities of the weather. The lights were on, warm and welcoming. She turned the bike ‘round to park it in the back, and then chained it down with the key and the chain and the lock.

She stepped down. Meowth hopped down to her side, and then she turned to observe Jessie and James. Jessie had fallen asleep on his shoulder on the drive, while James remained awake, straining heavy, dry eyes as he paid close attention to their surroundings.

“Come,” said Persia, “It is cold out now, and we should get inside.”

A gust of wind passed about them, “There’ll be a sandstorm tonight.” She said, looking up at the weather, “We’ll get the two of you cleaned up, and I’ll prepare some supper.”

James nodded and gently prodded the girl, “Come on Jess,” he called softly, “We’ve got to get inside.” A soft groan elicited from her mouth and she slowly blinked her eyes open.

“Persia and Meowth are letting us stay with them for the night.” He said. She nodded and pulled her sweaty body off him. He stepped out of the bike and reached for her to steady her as she did the same.

“_Uggh._ Everything hurts and I feel disgusting.” She said.

“Me too.” James agreed. They followed their hosts to the front door. Persia pushed opened the creaky thing clicked on the lights, gesturing for them to go inside first. Meowth went. Jessie and James followed. The home was just as humble inside as it was out. Everything had been cleaned. There was a little kitchen, a small round table perfect for accommodating four. In the main part of the house as well was a small drawing room. Off to the left and right of that were two separate hallways. One side led to the bathroom, the other to the two bedrooms.

A sigh escaped Jessie’s mouth then, and her shoulders sagged with slight relief. A proper shelter at long last. It had felt like ages in the desert, even though it had only been seventy-hours and then some. 

With a thump, the door closed behind them, and boots echoed across the floor. “I haven’t properly introduced myself.” Both Jessie and James turned to face her.

“My name is Persia.” she said, “Pleasure.”

James nodded, “I’m James.” He said. 

“And I’m Jessie.” Jessie added. Then both dipped their heads in gratitude.

“We can’t thank you enough for rescuing us from the Wastes.” James continued.

“I pride myself in helping those who are stranded out there. You are most welcome.” She answered, “Meowth, dear, please, take them to the back so they can bathe. Oh- but before you do that, let them pick some clean clothing.”

“Sure. Come on, yous two.” The cat beckoned to them and then made his way down the hall. He went into the tiny guest room. There was a full-sized bed, a desk and chair, and a closet. He swung open the closet door. 

“This here closet’s got dresses and robes and vests and other miscellaneous stuff.” He said, “And in there, you’ll find your basic pants and shirts. Also stockings, unmentionables, that type a’ thing.” He indicated the trunk at the foot of the bed, “You can pick whateva ya want.”

James slowly approached the closet, gravitating towards the left side, and shyly, he began to look through the dresses. They were all very simple in design. There was one that caught his attention. It was a long nightgown with a light dusting of powder blue. As he went through them, he kept glancing warily over his shoulder at Meowth.

The creature appeared to sense his self-consciousness, so he hopped up onto the bed and lounged across it, nonchalantly waving a hand.

“If yer worried I’m gonna judge ya for wearin’ a dress because of some social constraints or whateva, I can assure ya, I ain’t. We’re very open and welcomin’ in this house- also, I’m a talkin’ cat. So, like, if ya wanna put on that nightgown, then go for it.”

So, James pulled it out of the closet. Then, he proceeded to fold it neatly and set in on the bed. Jessie, meanwhile, went towards the trunk, and went for a simple, loose blouse with a pair of capris trousers. She tossed the clothing on the bed for James to begrudgingly fold- as was her habit.

“It’s interestin’- the relationship between yous two.” Meowth commented. Jessie and James both blushed and immediately, James became flustered and defensive.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” he asked, harsher than he intended.

“Oi, take it easy, Jimmy.” He said. James inwardly cringed, “I wasn’t judgin’. I was just observin’. I was just noticin’ it seems like the two ‘a you’s switched roles.”

“That’s just how we are,” Jessie shrugged, “And binaries are stupid and useless anyway.”

“Mm.” the cat hummed, “It’s interestin’, that’s all. Anyways~” he hopped off the bed, “Seein’ as ya both got your clothes picked out, let’s head to bathroom. I’m sure the both a’ yas are achin’ to get cleaned up.” 

They nodded, and he led them down the short hallway again.

-xXx-

“Ya see, this knob here makes the watta hot, and the other one’s gonna make it cold. All the soap is right there.” he explained, pointing with a claw. He then went into the cupboard under the sink and retrieved two towels, one for each of them, as well as two washcloths so they could scrub away at the hard to gets places in the creases and backs of their skin.

“Try ta enjoy yourselves,” Meowth began, “But don’t use to much watta. It’s kind of a limited resource out here.” He finished. 

“Thank you for everything, Meowth.” James said.

“Sure. Lemme know if ya need anythin’ else. Persia put me in charge of ya’ll.”

“Will do.” Jessie said gruffly, speaking to him for the first time, in a voice that was still hoarse from the dryness. The loth cat nodded and turned, padding out of the room to help his good friend in the kitchen.

“That is a weird ass cat.” Jessie scoffed.

James shrugged. “Him and that Persia woman have been kind to us, I have nothing negative to say, really.”

“The woman is just as strange.” She continued. Now that she had woken up and was feeling the hunger with knowledge of being able to eat tonight, she was in a rather foul mood. 

“Just because she’s Force sensitive?” James asked.

Jessie chuckled coldly, “You actually believe in that crap?”

“Yes, I do. I’ve seen proof of it with my own eyes. I watched Persia lift us onto her speeder using it. You were unconscious so you wouldn’t know. But yes, I do. Is that so wrong?”

“Believe what you want but it’s just a fairy story to me.”

“Fair enough.” He couldn’t blame her, after all. She was raised with all the worst of the world thrown at her, so it made sense to him why she wouldn’t believe there was anything of the like, anything that could give her that much hope.

“Anyway. I’m going to bathe first. If you don’t mind. Join me or don’t, I really don’t care. But I need help washing my back, so you’ll have to stay in here anyway. Might as well. Since that loth cat told us to “save water”.”

“Meowth…” James mumbled.

“What?” cold blue eyes studied him, and she spoke with a slight bite in her tone. His emerald pools looked up.

“His name is Meowth.” he said. Jessie rolled her eyes and turned to mess with the water. 

“I don’t care what his name is, he freaks me out. Talking loth cat…hmmph. Anyway.” She turned the knobs a few times, waited, and tested the water again. Then she repeated the process until she was satisfied with it. She plugged the drain. Then, they waited in quiet. Jessie pulled off her boots and soiled clothes and tossed them in the hamper nearby. She sat down on the edge of the tub, hunched over. The bruising on her sides was purple, yellow, and ugly. James peeled off his top and did the same. They looked down at their reddened, cut up, and swollen feet. Their eyes traveled up to survey each other’s skin again: Sand- scraped, dirty flesh, raw and peeling, dried blood from old injuries, bruises, and tangled hair matted and unruly. James didn’t dare stare at Jessie long, but then he became conscious of his own appearance. And so, he stood up and faced the mirror.

He didn’t recognize the man in front of him. His skin was peeling and cracked, and dark scabs and dried blood remained on his forehead, hallowed out cheeks, lips, and hands. He was covered in grime. His eyes were dull and sunken in, and agitated bags in hues of purple of red formed heavily beneath them. His stringy hair fell about in matted strands, and he opted to trim it as soon as he possibly could. It was coated with sand, and the shorter pieces which had been plastered to his face from sweat were knotted with crusty blood. Further down his body, was bruised and covered with a layer of scratchy dust. His ankle was burning, both with pain and temperature. The pale skin on his back and shoulders was burnt and peeling. The skin on his knuckles had been rubbed raw. And those injuries he had attained during the flee from Team Skull’s base, and the two falls that resulted in scraped up elbows and knees were puffy and angry. His care of them had been lax, as his sole focus had been on Jessie. His ribs poked out from his gauntly sides, more than he was used to them doing. His posture was slightly hunched, and he felt the heavy weight of fatigue pressing upon his thin shoulders. There was only one word that he could use to best describe himself: sickly. 

“You look like shit.” Jessie said. James stiffened and turned to study her.

“Well, you don’t look too wonderful yourself.” He replied.

“I’m aware!” she snipped, “Why do you think I haven’t gone anywhere near that dusty mirror?”

A ghost of a sly smirk briefly appeared on James’s face. Jessie once again scoffed.

-xXx-

Once the tub was completely full, James was prepared to let Jessie take a bath first, but she stopped him when he tried to leave.

“No need to be bashful all the sudden, just join me. The tub is big enough for two. We’ve been together since we were kids. I’ve seen everything and I really don’t give two shits. And I need help washing my back anyway. Plus, if you wait, you’ll be stuck with dirty water. Come on.”

He knew there wasn’t a way to get out of this one. So, with his back turned to her, he stripped and then followed her into the tub. He didn’t care about “decency” so to speak, but what he was concerned about was how she would respond when she got a look at his injuries he’d neglected to care for. They used the water from the faucet to scrub out all their hair, and then began to clean the rest. 

They started with their faces, and then they didn’t pay attention to one another as they scrubbed and scrubbed the grime from their skin. There was so much that it turned the bathwater a dark, ugly shade of brownish gray once they could see the flesh underneath again.

There was so much dirt that it took several passes of soap to get all of it off. And once they’d finished with that, after a quick shave, they used clean water from the faucet for one final rinse of everything. They dried themselves in the slightly worn towels that had been provided for them, and then wrapped themselves up in them. Then, they shared mirror space to trim the rats at the bottom of their hair that they hadn’t managed to get out.

At long last, they felt refreshed and clean again, and after they had finished dressing, they opened the door, letting the steam from the hot water out, and inhaled the welcoming scent of the delicious meal soon to come. 

-xXx-

When they reached the main room, the delicious smell of roast meat and warm bread rolls wafted from the kitchen, wrapping the entire air around them in the wonderful aroma. They inhaled and exhaled, drinking in the scent, and James hummed. Jessie’s growling stomach broke the quiet.

Their eyes fell to the small, worn sofa. A ball of yellowish fluff was heaped at the end. Velvety black ears twitched when Meowth picked up their footfalls, and he lifted his head, blue eyes gently fluttering to face the dim light inside again. He yawned, briefly flashing his rows of glinting, pointed, teeth.

“There you are.” he said, “Wow. I barely recognize ya! Who knew that under all that grime you’d both be such lookers in yer own rights!?”

James’s cheeks heated up red, and Jessie beamed, nearly forgetting her initial hostility towards the creature. This would be a story to tell one day- getting hit on by a talking Loth Cat. People would surely think them both mad. At the thought of this, James received a jolt- a pang- a massive drop in a stomach which knotted up again. That is if they lived to see the new years’ sunrise. Now that his head had been somewhat cleared, he again became aware of the true direness of their unlucky circumstance. They had a debt to pay.

“Ahh, there you are!” Persia’s warm voice pulled James from his thoughts. She walked into the room, “You look much refreshed. You’re just in time for dinner. Please, this way.” She turned and led them back to the kitchen. She was an older woman, warm-faced, with dark eyes which wrinkled with crow’s feet from smiling. She had a few curves she’d never lost from bearing children. Her skin was generously tanned. Her curly dark hair had begun to turn gray. She walked with a limp, and a hunched posture. She was past her prime, worn down. But her warm personality and gentle air gave off a certain beauty which could never be lost.

“Do have a seat,” she said, “And please, eat as much as you want.” The small table was neatly set with mismatched and cracked dinner plates, glasses full of water, cups of warm tea, polished silver, and aged, fabric napkins. In the center was a bread basket full of fresh roles, a butter platter and knife to go with it, some meat, and a pot of stew. James’s mouth watered. They hurried over and pulled the chairs. James tried to keep a dignified, mannerly presentation, but Jessie was shameless. She reached over the table and aggressively grabbed two bread rolls, two chunks of meat, and a generous bowl of vegetable stew. She immediately tore into it before everyone could fully sit down, and James couldn’t hide his embarrassment. He awkwardly darted his gaze between the two hosts, but Persia smiled softly and gestured a nonchalant hand.

“I raised five children,” she said, “This isn’t anything out of the ordinary for me.”

“No need ta stand on ceremony, Jimmy boy~” Meowth drawled, (He was sitting on the chair, propped up with a pile of folded laundry), “There ain’t no one here ta offend. We know you’ve had it rough out there.” He nodded and immediately began to mimic Jessie’s movements, gorging just as she did. Their plates were cleared within several moments, and both went in for second helpings. They went much slower with this serving than previously.

Seeing as they were content enough to slow down, Meowth began to talk to them, picking their brains.

“So, what’s yer story, then?” he asked, “How’d you’s end up in the Judland Wastes?” They stopped eating and exchanged weary glances. _What were they supposed to say? They crash-landed because they were sent on a mission by one gang to steal from another and they miserably failed?_ _And now they basically had nine months to pay off a massive debt and would die if they didn’t? _

“Our ship crashed. We got into a scuffle. You know how it is.” Jessie explained.

Meowth nudged Persia, “I told yas it weren’t no shootin’ star- somethin’ fell, I was right~” He smirked egotistically. With her own grin and playful eye-roll, she shrugged him off and turned her attention to the ex-bounty hunters.

“That’s awful, how badly were you hurt?” she asked, “Do you need anything to tend any injuries?”

“We managed to escape with whiplash and some scrapes.” Jessie replied, “We’re fine.”

“That’s good at least.” She said, “And…how long were you in the desert?” She studied them as she took a sip of tea.

“Three days.” Jessie said, “We had to rest. We were banged up pretty bad before. More scuffles. We get into a lot of them.” She cut a square of meat and impaled it in her fork, raising it to her mouth.

“Where ya from?” Meowth asked, poking at a piece of bread with a claw. Again, there was a silence. Jessie and James looked at each other. _What would these kind-hearted folks think if they told them they were from Nar Shadaa? _

“Coruscant.” James said. Jessie exhaled but she felt her muscles tense at the mention of that wretched name.

“You’re quite a long way from home.” said Persia.

Bitterness welled up in Jessie’s core. She clenched one fist beneath the table and tore into her slice of bread in the other. _Home. Home!? _She wanted to spit out, “_Never! Never would that ever be…how dare she even suggest—” _

James’s hand on her thigh calmed her down. She looked up at him. His green gaze was remorseful, but in that moment, it was all he could think to say to cover them. In her eyes she forgave him.

“We’ve been travelling.” Jessie continued, “We haven’t been back to Coruscant in years.”

“We tried to vacation in Rishi,” James further explained, “But that was a mistake. It didn’t go very well, and its essentially how we ended up in our scuffle and got here.”

“Those pirates are a brutal lot.” Persia commented, “It’s hardly a safe place to be.”

“Neither is a desert crawling with Barbarians.” Meowth scoffed. Persia nudged his arm.

“Oh, cut it out.” She said, “Smart arse.” She teased, and then continued, “A beach vacation sounds nice in theory, but I’d be afraid to venture there myself.” She immediately trailed off, upon realizing what she had said, “Oh, my apologies. I wasn’t trying to reprimand you, but as a mother I worry about these things.”

“It’s fine.” Jessie said gruffly, “…The food is delicious, thank you.” She took a sip of water.

“Oh yes!” Persia replied, “I’m glad. Everything is made from scratch, all personal recipes of mine. Except the tea, of course, I go to _Mos Espa _for that.”

Jessie’s face lit up, “_Mos Espa_? The one famous for Pod racing?”

Persia sighed, “It is. Quite the brutal sport, if you ask me. But my children loved them when they were teenagers. I suppose that makes them popular amongst the young’uns.”

Jessie excitedly nudged James’s shoulder, “We ought to go to one!” she said.

_With what money? _He thought bitterly, _We owe a massive debt. _

“Is there any way to get paid work out here?” James asked, “We find ourselves unemployed at the moment.” He lifted his tea cup and took another sip. The warm liquid fell smoothly down his throat, which was finally starting to feel less dry.

“You could try to find work in either _Mos Eisley_ or _Mos Espa_, but most of what you’ll get would be indentured servitude and slavery.” Persia replied.

“Though I’ve heard folks makin’ it big with Jabba the Hutt.” Meowth commented, “And other black-market stuff.” He ripped a piece of bread with his pointed teeth.

Persia sighed behind her tea, “Meowth, must you have brought that up?” She studied him with slight exasperation.

“They asked.” He shrugged, “Gotta give them all the details, ya know. We’re supposed to be helpin’, right?” Persia shook her head, and then she turned to face the guests again.

James’s arm was resting on the table, so she reached over and patted the back of his hand. “Worry about that in the morning. Right now, the important thing is that you’re fed and rested. The two of you look absolutely exhausted still. You’ll be safe here tonight. What you need is a good sojourn.”

“Yeah!” Jessie slapped him on the back, “She’s right, James. Our health is priority.” He felt a hint of annoyance. _She’s avoiding the truth like the plague…_

Despite his annoyance, James nodded slowly, not wanting to press the matter further, since it had been essentially shut down in front of him. She was right. Very right. But there was no way he could relax, not truly. Because in his head, he was already counting down the days.

-xXx-

The two of them ate their share and went to bed. Just as she had forced him to bathe with her, Jessie forced him to share her bed. And in the end, he knew he’d be glad she had. And he thought to himself, _she’s always right. _

**Author's Note:**

> According to the Star Wars Wookiepedia:
> 
> *Nar Shadaa, or Smugglers Moon, was a hot spot for gangs and the like during the days of the Old Republic. 
> 
> *Rishi was tropical planet that was described as being notorious as a smuggler and pirate haven. Additionally, "Actions or events that are considered illegal in the Core Worlds are legal, including goods smuggling, contraband, black marketeering and bounty hunting." Since Guzma is from the Alola region, which is tropical, I figured it made sense to have him be the big gangster man in Rishi.
> 
> *"Jablogians were a sentient species native to the planet of Nar Kanji. They were noted for their overweight torsos, blemished red skin, pointed ears and beady eyes."
> 
> *Tarine tea is a type of tea in the Star Wars verse. It was said to be General Armitage Hux's favorite. Also, Tarine tea and porridge made for a filling breakfast. A real-world version of the drink is served at the new Galaxy's Edge and is described as unsweetened black tea with huckleberry, peach, and mint.
> 
> *Caf is the Star Wars equivalent of coffee.


End file.
